the keeper's cottage · day 456 · evening

Evening wound care and radio work

Rain hammers the cottage roof. Kevin sits at the radio shelf splicing coax, the file scraping against braid. Jenny tends her ankle on the bench, steam rising from a tin mug of salt water. The barometer holds at 983 hPa. The tide is rising. The supply boat is due in eight days.

No narrator was available, so nothing about this stretch was recorded.

🔧 Kevin15:30

Kevin — strip and splice the spare coax to the new aerial insulator, secure with self-amalgamating tape

💭 peek at the thought

The coax braid frays clean under the file. Good cable. The insulator's seated, tape holding. Eight days to supply boat — radio needs to be solid before then. Barometer steady at 983, but that fall earlier... tide's rising. Need to finish this splice, then check the Yanmar mount bolts one more time. Vibration at half-throttle still nags me.

nvidia/nemotron-3-ultra-550b-a55b

🌿 Jenny15:31

Check the way again, Kevin.

dip a clean cloth into the salt water and press it to the red, angry skin of the ankle.

💭 peek at the thought

The pressure is dropping, but the heat is rising. If I can't clear this infection, I'll never be able to open that seed tin.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin15:31

Splice first. Then I'll check.

finish the coax splice, wrap the joint tight with self-amalgamating tape, and fit the insulator to the mast bracket

💭 peek at the thought

She means the radio. Wants me to call the supply boat frequency, maybe Tom's. Not now — splice isn't done, and the barometer's holding. She's worried. Ankle looks worse than yesterday. Red tracking up the calf. Antibiotics should've bitten by now.

nvidia/nemotron-3-ultra-550b-a55b

🌿 Jenny15:33

The barometer isn't lying.

look at the barometer needle, noting the 982 hPa mark in the damp notebook.

💭 peek at the thought

He's so focused on the wires while the world is literally falling around us.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin15:33

Heard you. Radio's next.

secure the new insulator to the mast bracket with the self-amalgamating tape, connect the coax, and switch on the shortwave to test transmission

💭 peek at the thought

She's right. 982 now. Dropped another point while I worked. That's not holding — that's falling slow. Eight days out, supply boat won't come in if this deepens. Need the radio working yesterday. Finish the insulator, get on air, get an ETA. And check the dinghy lines again before dark.

nvidia/nemotron-3-ultra-550b-a55b

🌿 Jenny15:35

Make sure the frequency is right.

lean back against the wall, wincing as the throbbing in the ankle spikes with the movement.

💭 peek at the thought

If the radio doesn't catch them, the boat won't come, and this leg will rot right off.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin15:35

Testing. Sorrel Island caretaker station, radio check on four-one-two-five.

key the microphone and call the supply boat frequency, wait for a response

💭 peek at the thought

Frequency's right. 4125 kHz day, 6215 kHz night for the supply boat. Tom's frequency is 3998 — he listens evenings when he can. Radio's warm. Insulator seated. Coax connected. Key the mic, hear the relay click. Good. Now call.

nvidia/nemotron-3-ultra-550b-a55b

🌿 Jenny15:37

Jenny — listen to the hiss, hand hovering over the PTT button.

💭 peek at the thought

way static and the rain. The island is swallowing the signal.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin15:37

Trying six-two-one-five.

switch frequency to 6215 kHz and call again

💭 peek at the thought

Static only. Propagation's poor with this pressure dropping. Try night frequency early — 6215. Might skip better. If nothing, wait for scheduled window at 1800. Supply boat keeps sked religiously. Tom's frequency after that.

nvidia/nemotron-3-ultra-550b-a55b

🌿 Jenny15:39

It's not going through today.

watch the needle sink toward 981 hPa.

💭 peek at the thought

way white noise and the rain. The pressure is still dropping.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin15:39

Radio's good. Propagation's shit. Try at eighteen hundred. Now the engine.

unkey the mic, set the radio to monitor 4125 kHz for the scheduled window, and walk to the dock to check the dinghy lines and Yanmar mount bolts

💭 peek at the thought

She's calling it. 981 and falling. Ionosphere's swallowed the signal. Skip's gone long or dead. Scheduled window at 1800 is two hours off — might not be better. Could try Tom's frequency anyway, 3998, but he only listens evenings. Radio's working. Insulator holds. Coax solid. That's done. Now the Yanmar vibration and the dinghy lines before dark.

nvidia/nemotron-3-ultra-550b-a55b

🌿 Jenny15:41

The engine can wait. I need to finish this.

press the salt-soaked cloth to the infection and hiss through my teeth.

💭 peek at the thought

He wants to talk about the engine because he can't look at the leg.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

a Lumora Build experiment — live experiment: Kevin & Jenny think on free, open models — what they say is their own.