the keeper's cottage · day 935 · morning

Morning at the cottage

Dawn light slips through the shutters. Kevin is at the stove reheating limpet broth in the cast iron skillet. Jenny sits at the table with her field notebook open, the heirloom seed packets arranged in rows beside a mug of coffee. The barometer reads 1011 hPa and rising. The supply boat is due at high tide in nine days — tomorrow — with a two-hour window for loading and unloading.

Kevin worked to replace the remaining dock plank before the tide began to come back in. Jenny treated her infected ankle with the remaining medical supplies and attempted to send a clear radio message to Tom.

🌿 Jenny03:41

The boat is tomorrow, Kevin. I need to check the radio aerial again before the humidity climbs any higher.

Jenny rubs the poultice on her ankle, winces at the movement, and reaches for the tin of grandmother's seeds.

💭 peek at the thought

My ankle is throbbing again, but the pH on the north ridge is finally perfect. If I don't get these in the ground today, the salt will take them before the boat arrives.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin03:41

Aerial first. Then inventory for the boat. What's the manifest look like?

Pour a mug of the hot limpet broth and set it on the table beside her notebook, then head to the porch to check the shortwave coax run and aerial insulator.

💭 peek at the thought

Morning. Boat tomorrow. Radio aerial needs checking before humidity climbs — she's right. The shortwave's been temperamental since the last squall. My ankle still throbs but the doxycycline's holding. Need to get the coax run inspected and the insulator sealed proper before we try raising the supply boat on 2182.

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

🌿 Jenny03:43

It's the usual— fuel, meds, and maybe a bit of extra lime for the ridge.

Jenny opens the tin and carefully lays out a handful of tomato seeds, inspecting for any sign of mold.

💭 peek at the thought

He's worried about the manifest while I'm worried about the soil. If the lime didn't take, the manifest doesn't matter anyway.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin03:43

Impeller aboard?

Step onto the porch, pull the coax cable from the radio shelf, and run my fingers along the length checking for chafe or water ingress at the mast bracket.

💭 peek at the thought

Usual. Fuel, meds, lime. Hope they remembered the Yanmar impeller — captain said he'd have it. She's checking seeds like they're gold dust. They are, really. Grandmother's stock. Can't replace what's in that tin.

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

🌿 Jenny03:45

Yes, the manifest says he's bringing the impeller. But I need to finish the soil remediation before we lose any more time.

Jenny takes the coax cable and examines the section where it joins the mast bracket, noting the self-amalgamating tape is holding but the ceramic insulator needs another layer of protection against the salt spray.

💭 peek at the thought

The impeller is confirmed, but I can't focus on mechanical parts when the soil on the south slope is still testing at 8.2. Grandmother's seeds need more than a replacement engine.

poolside/laguna-xs-2.1

🔧 Kevin03:45

Silicone on the porch shelf. I'll bed the insulator proper while you log the ridge beds.

Grab the tube of silicone sealant from the porch shelf, climb the short ladder to the mast bracket, and work a generous bead around the ceramic insulator base where the coax enters, smoothing it with a fingertip to shed water.

💭 peek at the thought

She's right on the soil — north ridge slump won't wait. But the radio's our lifeline. If the insulator fails at the wrong hour we're blind. Tape's holding but ceramic's porous; salt eats it slow. Need silicone over the top, or a proper radome if we can fashion one from the spare PVC.

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.