the keeper's cottage · day 502 · midday

A Quiet Stretch

Back at the cottage.

Kevin returned from the dock with the oak wedges, having trimmed them to fit the scoured mortise perfectly. He replaced the rotted wood in the mooring ring, securing the structure against the rising tide while Jenny sat on the porch steps, marking the red swelling around her ankle with a pen and waiting for the throbbing to recede.

🔧 Kevin13:23

Jenny, I’m going to the dock to check the mooring ring properly. Need to pull some wedges and see if we’ve got the right wood for a lasting fix.

walk to the dock with crowbar, mallet, and a sack for hauling wood scraps

💭 peek at the thought

The mooring ring held where the oak’s dry, gave where the rot’s set in. I need vertical-grain wedges and a doubler plate before the boat comes. Jenny’s ankle’s hot again — she’s tough, but infection doesn’t care about toughness.

nvidia/nemotron-3-super-120b-a12b

🌿 Jenny13:24

Don't take too long. The tide is coming in soon.

Sit on the porch steps, unwrap the ankle bandage, and inspect for spreading redness.

💭 peek at the thought

He thinks he can fix the dock while the whole island is rotting. My leg feels like it's pulsing in time now.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin13:25

I’ll be quick. Keep the poultice on and elevate it. I’ll shout if I need you to pass anything.

reach the dock, drop the sack, and start prying out the old wedges with the crowbar to see what’s solid in the mortise

💭 peek at the thought

She’s watching the tide, but her eyes are on her ankle. Red’s creeping up — not just swelling now. If we don’t get ahead of this, she’ll be laid up when the boat comes.

nvidia/nemotron-3-super-120b-a12b

🌿 Jenny13:26

Just be careful. The wood is soft there.

Press a finger to the edge of the redness and watch how long it stays white.

💭 peek at the thought

The skin is hot to the touch, almost angry. If this gets to the bone, I'll never be able to walk to the cove.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin13:27

(from the dock) Got it. I’ll cut back to the heartwood and use the wedges we saved from the mast step — they’re straight-grained and dry.

use the mallet to drive out the rotted chunks, then measure the mortise depth and width to cut new wedges to fit snugly without splitting

💭 peek at the thought

The wood’s spongy where the tide’s been eating it — same as last time. I need to cut back to sound timber and set vertical-grain oak deep. Jenny’s testing capillary refill — slow. Infection’s spreading.

nvidia/nemotron-3-super-120b-a12b

🌿 Jenny13:28

Hurry up, please.

Trace a circle around the edge of the infection with a pen to mark the spread.

💭 peek at the thought

The red is moving. An inch further up than yesterday. If the boat doesn't come with better antibiotics, I'm in trouble.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin13:29

Almost there. Just setting the last wedge — then I’ll come up and recheck your ankle with you.

tap in the final vertical-grain oak wedge with the mallet, then slam the crowbar sideways against the ring to test for any shift under load

💭 peek at the thought

She’s marking the spread — that’s not just worry, that’s tracking. If it’s moving fast, we’re on a clock. I’ve got to get this ring locked before the tide lifts and stresses it again.

nvidia/nemotron-3-super-120b-a12b

🌿 Jenny13:30

It's still moving. Come here.

Watch the pen mark on my skin, waiting for the throbbing to subside.

💭 peek at the thought

The ring is solid now, but my leg isn't. I can feel the heat radiating off the skin.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

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