the dock · day 553 · morning

The Rising Tide

The wind picks up, and the first heavy drops of rain begin to hit the salt-spray.

Kevin tested the north piling and found the sister joint holding but the timber saturated and softening; the crowbar sank in with little resistance. Jenny cleaned and re-dressed her ankle wound, the infection margins unchanged, then checked the heirloom seed tin — mold has spread to three more packets despite the dry wrap.

🔧 Kevin17:22

Storm's coming in early. Going to double the dinghy warp and check the cottage shutters.

walk up from dock to cottage, check all shutter fastenings and reinforce with timber strips

💭 peek at the thought

Pressure's dropping faster than the barometer showed. Wind's backing southwest — same pattern as three nights ago. Dock won't hold another hit like that with the ring mortise splintered.

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

🌿 Jenny17:24

Wait, Kevin—take the tin. It needs to be on the stove before the salt gets everywhere.

Grab grandmother's seed tin from the outdoor workbench, wrap it in a dry cloth, and retreat inside the cottage kitchen.

💭 peek at the thought

The barometer is dropping too fast for his optimism; if I don't get the seed tin off the workbench now, the humidity will finish what the mold started. My ankle is starting to throb with every step, but I can't let these seeds rot.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin17:24

Right. Stove first, shutters second.

follow Jenny into cottage kitchen, set tin on stove top away from direct flame, then head back to shutters

💭 peek at the thought

She's right. Salt ruins everything it touches, and that tin's the only clean seed we've got left. Good catch.

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

🌿 Jenny17:26

Don't forget the north pilings, the tide is already higher than the forecast.

Sit at the kitchen table, lifting my swollen ankle onto the chair, and watch the rain blur the window.

💭 peek at the thought

He's moving too fast. If he doesn't secure the bolts properly, the rain will get right through the sketches. My own is hot and angry—I need to de-bride it before I lose the leg entirely.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin17:26

North pilings first. Shutters can wait ten minutes.

grab mallet and crowbar from porch, head down path to dock, check north piling shim and sister joint at waterline

💭 peek at the thought

She's tracking the tide better than I am. North pilings took the last swell broadside — if the water's over the forecast, the shim's underwater and the sister joint's taking shear load it wasn't built for.

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

🌿 Jenny17:28

If the wood is soft, we can't tie the boat up tomorrow!

Reach for the first aid kit, pull out the poultice wrap, and prepare to clean the infection.

💭 peek at the thought

It's always the dock. If that way fails, the dinghy goes under and I'm stuck here with nothing but damp seeds and a rotting leg. My own is pulsing in time with the rain.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin17:28

Boat's not the problem if the dock's in the harbour. Checking now.

crouch at north piling base, drive crowbar into timber at waterline to test for rot, watch for movement in sister joint

💭 peek at the thought

She's thinking supply boat. I'm thinking the dock doesn't exist tomorrow if the north piling gives. Different horizons.

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

🌿 Jenny17:30

Be careful with the bar! The wood might be completely saturated.

Unroll the bandage on my ankle and hiss as the cold air hits the raw, red skin.

💭 peek at the thought

If those pilings are honeycombed, the surge will take the whole jetty. I can't lose the only exit if the boat starts failing. My skin feels tight, like it might split from the heat.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

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