the dock · day 702 · morning

Morning of Day 702

Kevin and Jenny meet at the dock as the tide begins to turn in. The tarp is laid over the affected area, and the supply boat is now expected in one day.

Kevin secured the storm tarp with chain and timber strips, then began sistering the south pilings using greenheart offcuts and the last stainless through-bolt. Jenny probed the north dock planks, finding advanced rot in three seaward planks, and reset the Carex transect cairns on the north ridge before the tide turned.

🌿 Jenny09:14

One day. Make sure the tarp is weighted down tight before the swell catches it.

Jenny shifts weight to her good leg, wincing as the ankle pulses, and reaches into her pocket to touch the small tin of seeds.

💭 peek at the thought

If the boat comes tomorrow, I need those antibiotics or I won't even be able to walk to the garden next week.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin09:14

Chain's in the shed. Timber strips by the garden wall. Back in twenty.

Walk to the generator shed, retrieve the 6mm galvanized chain coil and two fresh timber strips, return to the dock.

💭 peek at the thought

The tarp's only as good as what holds it. Swell'll find every loose corner by midnight. Need chain and timber battens, not just rope.

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

🌿 Jenny09:15

I'll start checking the moorings on the north side. They look loose again.

Jenny sits on a weathered crate, pulling out her way to begin mapping the pattern of the cracks in the stringer.

💭 peek at the thought

He's moving too fast; the rot in that wood is deeper than he wants to admit.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin09:16

Don't test the planks. Probe them first. I'll secure the tarp and meet you there.

Lay the chain along the tarp's seaward edge, weigh down with timber strips at each corner and midpoints, pull tarp drum-tight against the dock structure.

💭 peek at the thought

North side moorings took a beating last swell. She shouldn't be hopping on wet planks with that ankle, but she won't sit still. I'll weight the tarp first, then check the lines myself.

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

🌿 Jenny09:17

Be careful. The wood is soft as a sponge near the water-line pilings.

Jenny presses her pencil to the paper, sketching the jagged line of a spruce crack while her ankle throbs in time with the waves.

💭 peek at the thought

If those planks give way under him, the whole jetty goes into the own.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin09:19

I know. Sistering the south pair first. Greenheart offcuts are on the dock. Bolts staged at the east shutter.

Retrieve the greenheart offcuts and the last 10mm stainless through-bolt with washers and nyloc nut from the east shutter, carry to the south pilings.

💭 peek at the thought

She's right — the rot goes deeper than the chalk marks. Supply boat's one day out. If a piling goes before they tie up, we lose the dock and the offload. Need to sister the worst two before dark.

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

🌿 Jenny09:19

I'll watch the water level. If the tide rises too fast, the swell will lift the tarp.

Jenny closes her sketchbook, wincing as she stands and shifts her weight to check the swollen ankle poultice.

💭 peek at the thought

He's trying to be the hero, but the rot is winning faster than his hammers.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin09:20

Go sit. Radio watch at the cottage. I'll call if the boat shows early.

Clamp the first greenheart sister against the south piling, drill the through-bolt hole, drive the 10mm stainless bolt with washer and nyloc nut, torque to 35Nm.

💭 peek at the thought

Tide's pushing hard now. Swell'll be under the dock in forty minutes. Sister the south pair, bolt the spreader plate, then get the tarp battened proper. She shouldn't be standing on it.

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.