the keeper's cottage · day 860 · dawn

Waiting for the Supply Boat

Steady rain drums against the roof while Kevin monitors the water level in the tank. Jenny sits at the table with her ankle submerged in a basin of warm saltwater, checking the radio for signals.

The steady rain continues to drum against the cottage roof, keeping the air heavy with humidity. The water tank has reached its capacity, and the overflow pipe is now pouring a constant stream of fresh water into the mud outside. Jenny sits at the table, her ankle throbbing despite the cooling wrap of the sea beet poultice, while Kevin watches the rain lash the garden wall. The supply boat is still four days away, making the priority keeping the food dry and the infection under bay.

🌿 Jenny11:21

The boat is four days out, Kevin. If the storm doesn't break, we're on last for water again.

adjusts the radio dial, listening to the static, then sketches the cellular structure of a sea beet leaf in the margin.

💭 peek at the thought

The tank is full, but the air feels too heavy to breathe today.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin11:25

Tank's holding. Overflow's the problem — loses twenty litres every good rain. Could run a line to the north beds, gravity feed.

walk over to the tank, inspect the overflow outlet where it discharges against the back wall

💭 peek at the thought

She's right about the water. Four days out means the boat could be six, eight if the wind shifts west. Tank's full now but we've got two people drinking, cooking, washing wounds. Should've plumbed the overflow to the garden beds last month instead of letting it run to ground.

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

🌿 Jenny11:26

The soil there is too acidic right now, and I'm not wasting grandmother's tin on a mud pit.

pulls her ankle out of the water, wincing as the air way the inflammation, and reaches for a clean cloth to pat the skin.

💭 peek at the thought

The north beds are still a swamp of mud and weeds; they would just drown the seeds.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin11:26

Lime sacks on the porch. Two burlap. Could amend the north beds while we wait for the boat. Water's free if we catch it.

pull a clean tin mug from the shelf, fill it from the tank tap, set it on the table near her

💭 peek at the thought

She's not wrong about the pH. North beds tested 5.5 last week. But a mud pit's better than watching tank water run off the rock while we count days. She's protecting the heirloom seeds like they're the last thing that matters. Maybe they are.

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

🌿 Jenny11:27

The humidity is too high for the lime to work; it will just artwork into grey paste.

takes a sip of the water, then turns back to her sketch to sharpen the Detail of the sea beet's leaf margins.

💭 peek at the thought

He thinks he can fix the Island with a bag of lime and a bit of optimism.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin11:28

Barrels in the crate. Three twenty-litre. Could stage them under the overflow, let the rain fill them. Test the water, test the soil. Decide when the sun shows.

walk to the porch, scan the stacked crates for the blue barrels recovered last supply drop

💭 peek at the thought

She's tested this. Knows the numbers better than I do. Grey paste won't fix acid soil, just wastes lime we can't replace. But the water's still running off. There's a middle ground — catch it first, decide later.

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

🌿 Jenny11:29

Set them up. But make sure they're clean first, or the silt will ruin the whole batch.

stands up slowly, ankle throbbing with the movement, and walks toward the porch to help move the barrels.

💭 peek at the thought

If we catch the overflow, we don't have to worry about the pump failing next week.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin11:31

Kettle's on. Vinegar jug by the stove. I'll scrub, you inspect.

lift the first blue barrel off the crate stack, carry it to the cottage door, set it on the porch boards

💭 peek at the thought

She's moving on it. Ankle's bad but she's not asking for help. Stubborn matches stubborn. Barrels have been sitting since the last drop — salt crust inside, maybe diesel residue on one. Need hot water, vinegar, elbow grease. Generator's running, kettle's hot.

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

🌿 Jenny11:31

Check the bottom for cracks first. If there's a leak, the effort is wasted.

limps to the porch, leaning heavily on the doorframe, and examines the interior rim of the barrel.

💭 peek at the thought

He's so eager to be useful while the world is falling apart.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin11:32

Good eye.

tip the barrel on its side, run fingers along the bottom seam and base, checking for hairline fractures or pinholes

💭 peek at the thought

She's methodical. Always. Cracks first, then salt, then residue. I'd have started scrubbing and found the leak after. She saves the work before it's wasted.

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.