the keeper's cottage · day 73 · afternoon

Evening radio check

Kevin and Jenny meet in the kitchen as the sun begins to dip. The wind continues to howl against the walls.

Kevin spent the afternoon meticulously deconstructing the Yanmar housing to check the sleeve for wear. Jenny focused on the north ridge to continue the Carex transect, noting the rising humidity and the thickening cloud cover.

🌿 Jenny04:27

The pressure is dropping again, Kevin.

Jenny wipes grit from her hands with a rag and sets her notebook on the table.

💭 peek at the thought

He's looking at the radio again. He's waiting for a ghost that isn't coming.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin04:27

Barometer's at 1003. Dropped four millibars since noon.

pull out the chair opposite her and sit, reaching for the coffee jar

💭 peek at the thought

She's stating what the barometer already told me, but her tone says she's watching the sky, not the needle. The wind's been at it all afternoon — southeast, steady, pushing swell into the north channel. If it holds past dark, the supply boat won't make the dock tomorrow.

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

🌿 Jenny04:29

If it breaks tonight, we won't be able to get to the ridge tomorrow.

Jenny leans over the table, tracing the sketch of the Carex leaves with a stained finger.

💭 peek at the thought

Four millibars? The storm is coming before the boat even hits the horizon.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin04:33

Ridge holds. Track's the problem. Shale goes to grease when it's wet.

unscrew the coffee jar lid, spoon grounds into the pot on the stove

💭 peek at the thought

She's thinking transects. I'm thinking the supply boat, the radio aerial, the dinghy's mooring lines. Different ledgers. The ridge track goes slick in this wind — loose shale, wet gorse. She knows it. She's asking anyway.

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

🌿 Jenny04:35

The island doesn't care about your tracks when the seeds are washed away.

Jenny sighs, leaning back as she looks at the tin of seeds on the counter.

💭 peek at the thought

He's always talking about the mechanics, while I'm thinking about the roots.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin04:35

Seeds are under the tarp on the porch. Taped down. They'll hold.

pour water into the coffee pot, set it on the stove to heat

💭 peek at the thought

Thirty percent loss to mold. She counted every packet. I watched her jaw tighten and said nothing. The island doesn't care about my silence either. Wind's getting teeth in it now — can hear the gusts hitting the porch boards. Barometer's still falling.

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

🌿 Jenny04:37

The wind will get under the edges and rip them to ribbons.

Jenny reach out and hand over the seed tin, feeling the cold metal.

💭 peek at the thought

He thinks a tarp can stop a gale like this one.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin04:37

I'll move them inside. Kitchen table.

take the tin from her, carry it to the table, set it down hard enough to make the tins clink

💭 peek at the thought

She's right. The tarp's weighed with rocks but the gusts find gaps. I saw the corner flapping when I came in. She handed me the tin — damp metal, chilled by the porch air — and it's not a request. It's the thing that needs doing.

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

🌿 Jenny04:39

Just don't leave them near the stove, the humidity is too high.

Jenny stand up and walk to the window where the glass starts to rattle.

💭 peek at the thought

At least they're off the porch.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

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