the keeper's cottage · day 560 · morning

The Rising Tide

The tide begins to turn, and the waterlogged crate is now against the rocks. The rain shows no signs of slowing down.

Kevin pried open the waterlogged crate under the porch and sorted its contents onto newspaper. Jenny applied a fresh sea beet-mint-honey poultice to her ankle and took her final metronidazole dose, then sketched the mold patterns on the compromised seed packets.

🌿 Jenny00:02

Jenny — make sketch: Mold patterns on seed packets (Packet A: Aspergillus-type fuzz, Packet B: Grey mold margins)

💭 peek at the thought

I can't move my leg well enough to go get that crate, and I'm shaking. I need to finish the record of the mold before the light fails.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin00:03

Kevin — walk down to the rocks and pull the waterlogged crate up onto the beach above the tide line

💭 peek at the thought

The crate's within reach now. Rain's heavy enough to hide any noise I make dragging it up. Good.

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

🌿 Jenny00:04

Don't open it out there in the rain.

Reach for the metronidazole blister pack and pop a tablet.

💭 peek at the thought

He's acting like everything is normal. Like we aren't just waiting for the clock to run out on this infection.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin00:04

Under the porch then.

drag the crate up the beach and under the cottage porch, out of the direct rain

💭 peek at the thought

She's right. Salt and wet will ruin whatever's inside. Better to drag it under the porch first.

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

🌿 Jenny00:06

Be careful with it. If it's leaked, the contents might be pulp.

Lean back against the chair and swallow the pill with a sip of water from the canteen.

💭 peek at the thought

He's so focused on the salvage. I wonder if he's trying to avoid looking at my leg.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin00:06

Kevin — crouch beside the crate under the porch and run my hands along the seams and corners, feeling for split seams or rusted-through spots

💭 peek at the thought

The crate's heavy. Waterlogged wood and whatever's inside. She's right — if the seals failed, it's all soggy cardboard and rust. Worth checking the corners before I pry it.

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

🌿 Jenny00:08

If the wood is soft, we need to dry them by the stove immediately.

Rub the side of my ankle, wincing at the heatradi from the skin.

💭 peek at the thought

He's being careful. It's the only way he knows how to be useful right now.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin00:08

Wood's soft at the bottom. Bands are tight. Crowbar and fire.

go inside, grab the crowbar from by the door, and throw a couple pieces of dry firewood into the stove to get it burning hot

💭 peek at the thought

Corners are swollen but the bands hold. Wood's soft at the bottom edge where it sat in the surf. Need the crowbar. And the stove going.

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

🌿 Jenny00:10

Just... don't dump everything on the floor. Keep it organized.

Carefully peel back the old poultice from my ankle to check the inflammation.

💭 peek at the thought

He's moving with a purpose I can't match. I feel like a ghost in my own kitchen.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin00:10

Newspaper first. Sort as it comes out.

spread a few sheets of the old supply boat newspaper on the porch floorboards, then wedge the crowbar under the crate lid and lever it open, working slow to keep the wood from splintering further

💭 peek at the thought

She's managing two injuries and still telling me how to unload a crate. Organized. Right.

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

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