the keeper's cottage · day 969 · morning

Supply boat on horizon

Kevin and Jenny stand on the cottage porch at morning light, the supply boat visible on the horizon approaching the dock. The generator sputters in the shed. Jenny's ankle is wrapped and elevated on a cushion. Kevin holds the last stainless through-bolt. The tide is high and still rising.

Kevin confirmed the supply boat's arrival via radio while preparing the copper shims for the Yanmar engine. Jenny stayed back to manage her throbbing ankle, applying a fresh sea beet poultice as the humidity rose.

🌿 Jenny06:43

Tell them to wait at the outer pier; the dock isn't ready for them yet.

Jenny reaches for the tin of grandmother's seeds on the table, gripping the cold metal as she watches the boat cut the swell.

💭 peek at the thought

The boat is finally here, but the engine is still screaming and my leg feels like fire.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin06:43

Copy. I'll raise them on the VHF. You get off the rail before the swell takes you.

walk to the radio shelf, pick up the handheld VHF, press the talk button, and call the supply boat on Channel 16

💭 peek at the thought

Boat's early. Dock's not ready. She's right — south piling sister joint still needs the last bolt torqued, and the generator's weeping diesel onto the shed floor. But she's gripping that seed tin like it's the only solid thing in the world. Her ankle's bad. She shouldn't be standing on the porch rail in this swell.

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

🌿 Jenny06:44

I'm not on the rail, Kevin. I'm on a cushion.

Gently shift the weight of the elevated ankle, wincing at the throb, and pull the notebook closer to check the tide height against the barometer.

💭 peek at the thought

He's always so damn focused on the mechanics of it. The dock is a gamble, and we're betting the whole supply run on a few sister plates.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin06:44

Right. Cushion. My mistake.

key the VHF and call the supply boat on Channel 16, telling them to hold at the outer pier until the dock's cleared

💭 peek at the thought

She's not on the rail. My eyes are shit in this light. Ankle's throbbing bad enough to wince. Barometer's steady at 1016 but tide's running high — charts don't match what the water's doing. She's checking the notebook like it'll argue with the ocean.

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

🌿 Jenny06:46

Jenny — open the notebook to the dock rot sketches and trace the line of the south piling, wondering if the stainless bolts will actually hold the weight of the crane.

💭 peek at the thought

He's retreating into the radio. Easier to talk to a captain two miles away than to me.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin06:47

South piling's sound. Four bolts, doubler plate, greenheart sister. Held Force 9. Crane's a different load — static lift vs dynamic wave. Captain knows his gear. He won't risk his boom on questionable timber.

keep the VHF to my ear, waiting for the boat's reply, one eye on the swell stacking against the dock face

💭 peek at the thought

She's tracing the rot line on the south piling sketch — the one I sistered with greenheart and four 150mm through-bolts. She knows every measurement. She's asking the paper if the steel will hold the crane's weight. The answer's in the torque marks: 35Nm on each bolt, doubler plate distributing load across sound timber. But paper doesn't feel the flex under load. The dock held the last storm. The crane's heavier.

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

🌿 Jenny06:48

The swell is stacking, Kevin. If the lift shifts, it won't matter how many bolts we used.

Set the notebook aside and lean forward, squinting at the horizon to see if the boat is slowing or holding position.

💭 peek at the thought

He's reciting the specs like a prayer. He wants to believe in the steel and the grain because he can't believe in us.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin06:48

Agreed. That's why they hold at the outer pier. We lighter the drums to the dinghy, ferry them in. No crane on the dock.

key the VHF again, telling the captain we'll meet him at the outer pier with the dinghy for lightering — no crane on the dock

💭 peek at the thought

She's right. Swell stacking against the dock face means the crane lift will surge with each wave — dynamic load on a static bolt pattern. Four 150mm bolts in greenheart sister joint, doubler plate, oak wedges in the mortise. Held Force 9. But a crane boom swinging a diesel drum at the end of a 50-foot lever arm? That's not wave load. That's moment force the dock was never designed for. Captain should know. But captains push schedules.

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

🌿 Jenny06:50

Smart. I'll get the gear ready.

Attempt to stand, leaning heavily on the driftwood cane and testing the weight on the wrapped ankle.

💭 peek at the thought

Lightering. More time in the swell, more chances for the dinghy to take a hit. But it's the only way we don't lose the pier entirely.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin06:51

Not yet. You need to sit down before the infection takes you. I'll get the gear.

place a firm hand on her shoulder, guide her back to the cottage step, and offer my arm for support

💭 peek at the thought

She's testing the ankle with that driftwood cane — weight shift already making her wince. Eight days of swelling, infection creeping at the edges. I can't let her carry diesel drums or seed tins on a bad ankle. The gear's in the generator shed, not the cottage. She shouldn't be standing in this swell.

poolside/laguna-xs-2.1

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