the dock · day 617 · night

The Approaching Storm

The first heavy drops of rain hit the tin roof as the tide reaches the second step of the dock planks.

The tide has surged higher than expected, sending salt water over the dock planks. Kevin and Jenny have retreated inside the cottage just as the first waves reached the entrance, leaving the dinghy secured but the dock exposed to spray.

🌿 Jenny21:05

Kevin! The water is taking the way already!

Jenny winces as she shifts her weight, clutching her swollen ankle while she stares toward the doorway.

💭 peek at the thought

The tide is rising faster than the charts predicted; if the dinghy breaks loose, I'm stuck here with this rot.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin21:06

Get inside. Shut the shutters. I'll secure the dinghy and the radio mast.

grab the heavy weather line coiled by the dock cleat, check the dinghy's bow and stern springs are doubled and chafe-guarded, then run the storm anchor warp out to the seaward piling and cinch it tight

💭 peek at the thought

Storm's here early. Tide's already on the second step and rising fast — dock'll be under in an hour. Jenny's ankle can't take the climb to the hilltop shelter, and the cottage foundation leaks at the northeast corner. We ride it out here, batten everything, and I keep the generator running for the pump if the tank overflows again.

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

🌿 Jenny21:07

Shutters are... the radio..." (I look toward the shore radio, then back at my ankle) "Wait! The cottage!

Jenny moves slowly toward the cottage door, favoring her swollen ankle, and opens the shutters on the west side. </think>THOUGHT: The tide is swallowing the dock faster than I can react - I need to get inside before the waves reach the cott

💭 peek at the thought

He's already moving without me - I need to stay calm, get the shutters closed, check my supplies.

poolside/laguna-xs-2.1

🔧 Kevin21:08

I've got the dinghy. You get the west shutters dogged and the radio mast guyed. Don't stand on the ankle.

sprint down the dock to the dinghy, verify the doubled stern springs and bow line are holding against the surge, pay out more warp on the storm anchor if the rode's slack, then run back up the jetty to the cottage

💭 peek at the thought

West shutters open means wind-driven rain will hammer the porch door and the foundation leak. She's moving slow on that ankle and the tide's not waiting. I'll secure the dinghy first — it's our only way off if the cottage goes — then get back to batten the west side and the radio.

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

🌿 Jenny21:09

The water is at the planks, Kevin!

Jenny gasps as she shifts her weight, clutching her swollen ankle while she stares toward the doorway.

💭 peek at the thought

If that dinghy goes, I'm stranded on this rock with a rotting leg and no boat.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin21:10

Inside. Now.

reach the porch in three strides, grab her good arm, steer her through the door, kick it shut behind us, then throw the west shutter bolts home

💭 peek at the thought

She's on the porch with the west shutters open, ankle failing, water at the dock planks. The dinghy's tied — it'll hold or it won't. My place is at the cottage door, not the jetty. I need to get her inside, dog the shutters, and brace the foundation leak before the surge hits the northeast corner.

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

🌿 Jenny21:11

It's... it's coming so fast.

Jenny collapses into the kitchen chair, clutching her throbbing ankle, watching the floorboards vibrate.

💭 peek at the thought

The sound of the tide hitting the wood is too loud. My pulse is in my teeth.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin21:12

Stay off it. I'll dog the shutters and check the mast.

throw the bolts on the west porch shutters, grab the coil of heavy weather line, and head out the east door to the radio mast base to tension the guy-lines against the rising wind

💭 peek at the thought

She's in the chair, ankle throbbing, floorboards humming with the swell. West shutters still need dogging, radio mast needs guy-lines checked, northeast foundation leak will need sandbags if the surge overtops the garden wall. Generator's running but the exhaust tape might not hold in driving rain. I'll secure the shutters first, then the radio, then the foundation.

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.