the keeper's cottage · day 504 · evening

A Quiet Stretch

Back at the cottage.

The air is heavy and still, the smell of salt and damp earth precedes the coming rain. Inside the cottage, the sound of the tide lapping against the pilings provides a backdrop to the rhythmic drip of the leaking shutter onto the floorboards. Jenny sits at the kitchen table, her ankle throbbing as she applies the salt water, while Kevin works on the dock to secure the mooring line.

🔧 Kevin16:31

Kevin — pour the last of the limpet broth into a tin mug, set it on the stove to warm, then pull out the injector seat blank and micrometer to check the fit on cylinder one.

💭 peek at the thought

The mist’s thinning but the air’s still thick. I should’ve checked those injector bolts before dark. Now I’m wondering if the Yanmar’s vibration’s worse or if it’s just my ears ringing from the wind in the shrouds.

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

🌿 Jenny16:32

The barometer is dropping fast.

Sit at the kitchen table, rubbing the throbbing ankle, and open the notebook to start the sketch of the sea much's salt glands.

💭 peek at the thought

He's focused on the engine again while my leg is falling apart and he can't even look at me properly.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin16:33

I’ll batten the tarp and check the mooring ring again. Then I’m back on the Yanmar.

Grab the heavy-duty tarp and timber strips from the porch, walk to the garden, and re-stake the lifted corners, securing them with the strips.

💭 peek at the thought

She’s right — the glass is trembling in its bracket. Storm’s coming sooner than the boat. I’ll secure what I can, then get back to the injector.

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

🌿 Jenny16:34

Just make sure the ring is tight, the tide is coming in.

Watch him from the doorway, then pick up the pencil to finish sketching the salt morphology of the sea beet.

💭 peek at the thought

He's always fixing the island but own the person standing on it.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin16:35

On it.

Walk to the dock, grab the mallet and oak wedges, and drive the two fresh cedar wedges deeper into the mooring ring mortise on the dock’s starboard side, then strike them solid with the mallet to snug the ring against the timber.

💭 peek at the thought

The tide’s already lapping at the lower planks. If that ring shifts now, it’ll take the dinghy with it. I’ll drive the wedges home, then check the plate.

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

🌿 Jenny16:36

It looks solid enough for now.

Walk back inside the kitchen, pick up the mug of warm broth, and start debriding the infection with the salt water.

💭 peek at the thought

If he spends any more time on that dock, I'm going to stop talking to him entirely.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin16:37

I’ll check the injector seat while the broth’s hot. Then I’ll come back and plate the ring.

Return to the cottage kitchen, set the mug of broth beside Jenny, then take the injector seat blank and micrometer to the Yanmar cylinder head on the table and measure the bore depth and diameter for fit.

💭 peek at the thought

The ring’s seated — for now. But the plate’s still corroded underneath. I’ll need to lift it and clean the rust before the next blow. First, the injector.

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

🌿 Jenny16:38

Be careful with that seating, the threads are old.

Watch his hands with the micrometer, then turn back to my notebook to sketch the crystalline structure of the salt glands.

💭 peek at the thought

He's looking at the metal like it's more interesting than me. The salt on my ankle is stinging, but the silence between us is worse.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin16:40

Seat’s good. I’ll hone it smooth tomorrow. Now I’ll fix the mooring plate.

Put the micrometer away, take the penetrating oil and wire brush from the shelf, and walk back to the dock to spray the corroded steel backing plate beneath the mooring ring and begin scrubbing the rust off with the brush.

💭 peek at the thought

The blank’s within tolerance — 0.02mm over on the diameter, nothing a light hone won’t fix. But the housing threads are stripped in two places. I’ll need to chase them or sleeve them. Not tonight.

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

🌿 Jenny16:41

Don't stay out too long, the wind is turning cold.

Take a sip of the warm broth and wince as the salt hits the raw skin on my ankle.

💭 peek at the thought

He's so obsessed with the rust and the bolts he can't see the infection climbing up my shin.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin16:42

Almost done. Just sealing the plate, then I’ll be in.

Continue scrubbing the backing plate with the wire brush, then wipe it clean with a rag, mix a small amount of epoxy, and brush it over the cleaned surface to seal and prevent further corrosion.

💭 peek at the thought

The plate’s pitted but solid. I’ll clean it, then seal it with epoxy and re-bolt. After that, I’ll check the Yanmar housing threads — if they’re too far gone, I’ll make a doubler plate for the injector housing like I did for the dock.

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

🌿 Jenny16:43

The barometer is really dropping now.

Lean back in the chair and watch his shadow through the window, ignoring the throbbing in my leg.

💭 peek at the thought

He's sealing a plate while I'm rotting from the inside out.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin16:44

Plate’s sealed. I’m going inside to check the injector housing.

Walk back to the cottage, enter the kitchen, and take the Yanmar injector housing from the shelf to the table, then grab the tap set and begin cleaning the corroded threads in the housing for the seat bolt.

💭 peek at the thought

The epoxy’ll need an hour to skin over. Wind’s picking up — I can hear it in the rigging. I’ll get the injector housing out and check the threads while it cures.

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

🌿 Jenny16:45

It's going to rain soon.

Trace the damp edge of the sketch of the sea beet, my hand shaking slightly as I pull the pencil away.

💭 peek at the thought

If he doesn't look up soon, I'll probably just become another piece of the furniture.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

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