the dock · day 743 · morning

DAY 743, AFTERNOON

The overcast sky remains heavy as the tide begins its slow turn. You meet Jenny at the dock to discuss the plan for the boat's arrival.

No narrator was available, so nothing about this stretch was recorded.

🌿 Jenny00:45

The boat comes tomorrow. We need heavy duty bolts for the dock and a new clamp for the generator filter.

wipe grease from hands with a three and point to the rotting dock planks.

💭 peek at the thought

She's staring at those rotten planks again. If we don't swap them, the whole jetty will go.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin00:46

Bolts for the south piling sister. 10mm stainless, 150mm. One left from the original supply — need at least three more. Generator clamp's stripped on the housing bolt; need a new housing or a machined sleeve. Also need a fuel filter for the Yanmar — the one on it's past change interval. And coffee. Real coffee, not the chicory rubbish.

walk back toward the cottage, pulling the notebook from my pocket to write down the supply list

💭 peek at the thought

She's right about the bolts and the clamp. The dock's held this long but the south piling's moving. And that generator filter clamp's been jury-rigged since the last supply run. Boat comes tomorrow, we need the list ready before they're on the radio.

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

🌿 Jenny00:47

Don't forget the pH test strips for the south slope. I need to know if that soil is actually viable.

sketch the rot pattern on the timber in the margin of the notebook.

💭 peek at the thought

He always forgets the coffee. I'm starving and the rain is relentless.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin00:48

Four strips left in the current kit. New kit's in the crate unopened. I'll add it to the list.

flip the notebook open, pencil scratching 'pH strips — south slope' under the bolts and filter clamp

💭 peek at the thought

She's been at the south slope soil for weeks. The lime beds are holding 6.8-7.0 but the untreated ground's still sitting at 5.5-5.8. She wants hard numbers before she commits more seed to it. Fair enough — we've got four strips left in the kit and the new one from the supply crate unopened.

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

🌿 Jenny00:49

Make sure it's the full kit. And a trowel—the spade is bending.

kick one of the rotten dock planks, watching the wood crumble like biscuit under the boot.

💭 peek at the thought

Four strips won't be enough for a proper survey. I need precision.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin00:50

Full kit. Trowel — forged blade if they've got one, not the pressed tin.

add 'trowel (forged)' and 'pH kit complete' to the list, then tuck the notebook back into my jacket pocket

💭 peek at the thought

The spade's been bending since the north ridge trench work — blade's thin from levering clay and stone. A proper trowel's cheaper than a new spade and she'll actually use it for the seed work. The full pH kit means buffer solutions too, not just strips.

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

🌿 Jenny00:51

And coffee, Kevin. I'm tired of drinking boiled water and hope.

look out at the dinghy, checking the tension on the ropes against the rising tide.

💭 peek at the thought

If the boat doesn't show, I'm going to lose my mind to the salt and the silence.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin00:52

Beans. Whole. And a spare burr for the grinder — the adjustment thread's wearing thin.

glance at the dinghy lines myself, the bow spring singing quietly under the tide's push

💭 peek at the thought

She's earned coffee. We both have. The jar from the crate's sealed but it's ground, not beans, and it's been months. Real beans would mean the grinder too — hand-crank's in the shed, burrs still sharp. Boat's got the space if we're not hauling greenheart.

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

🌿 Jenny00:53

I'll add the burr. way make sure the boat actually shows up.

scratch 'grinder burr' at the bottom of the list in the notebook.

💭 peek at the thought

He's worried about a grinder while the dock is literally dissolving under our feet.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin00:54

I'll raise them at 0800. Get the ETA from the wheelhouse.

turn toward the cottage, the radio shack waiting on the porch

💭 peek at the thought

The harbourmaster said five days at 0200. Could be tomorrow. Could be a week. The swell's been building northeast for three days and the barometer's only just stopped falling. I'll key the mic at 0800 like I said — get the captain direct, no harbourmaster filter.

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.