the keeper's cottage · day 687 · afternoon

The rising tide

The tide reaches the level of the dock pilings as the sky darkens further and the first drops of rain begin to fall.

Kevin battened the west shutter with timber strips and spare tarp, then moved to the east shutter but found the staged cedar shims and steel washers missing. Jenny, despite her swollen ankle, used the kitchen table as a crutch to reach the porch and discovered the coconut crab had dragged the hardware into the garden during the night.

🔧 Kevin13:39

Kevin — walk to the dock and inspect the south piling sister brace and mooring ring mortise at the waterline.

💭 peek at the thought

Tide's at the pilings now. Rain starting. Barometer at 1011 and steady — but that northeast swell lag means the real load on the dock lines comes after the pressure turns. Need to check the south piling sister brace and the mooring ring mortise before the water gets much higher. Jenny's at the sea cave with the seed tin and the VHF. She'll be coming back along the cliff path soon enough.

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

🌿 Jenny13:41

Kevin, get back from the edge! The barometer is dropping too fast for this!

Grab the heirloom seed tin from the table and retreat toward the porch, clutching my swollen ankle as the rain picks up.

💭 peek at the thought

The tide is coming in too fast for the map, and if that slope goes, the seeds are lost anyway.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin13:41

Getting the shutters. Generator next. You get inside.

Move to the west shutter first — batten it down with the timber strips and the spare tarp already staged there.

💭 peek at the thought

She's right about the barometer. Dropping fast now — can feel it in the chest. The dock inspection can wait until low tide; the sister brace held through the last storm and the mortise has six oak wedges driven vertical grain. But she's limping bad on that ankle, carrying the seed tin up the path in worsening rain. The VHF's with her but the shortwave's here. Need to secure the cottage first — shutters, generator, radio aerial — then get eyes on her.

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

🌿 Jenny13:43

I'm going in. Just watch the tide, it's screaming!

Sit on the kitchen floor, leaning my back against the stone wall, and hiss through the throbbing pain in my ankle.

💭 peek at the thought

He thinks the house is the only thing at risk, but the earth is moving right under our feet.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin13:43

Kevin — batten down the west shutter with timber strips and spare tarp, then move to the east shutter.

💭 peek at the thought

She's in. Good. The tide's pushing hard against the dock pilings now — can hear the water sucking at the mortise joints. West shutter first, then east. The spare tarp's staged with timber strips at the east shutter. Generator's running on main tank fumes — eighteen hours maybe. Need to check the reserve float again after the shutters. Radio aerial insulator's the filed ceramic one, sealed with self-amalgamating tape; held last storm but the coax shield continuity failed on the old cable. Spare coax is unopened on the porch shelf. Barometer's falling faster than I like.

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

🌿 Jenny13:50

Kevin, grab the cedar shims and steel washers from the west shutter—I'll meet you there. Kevin, grab the cedar shims and steel washers from the west shutter—I'll meet you there.

Use the kitchen table as a makeshift crutch, gripping the edge with both hands to push myself toward the door. </think>THOUGHT: The east shutter needs cedar shims and steel washers, but I can't leave the seeds unattended even for five minut

💭 peek at the thought

The east shutter needs the cedar shims and steel washers, but I can't leave the seeds unattended even for five minutes.

poolside/laguna-xs-2.1

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