the keeper's cottage · day 980 · midday

Midday radio contact and supply boat prep

Kevin returns from the dock as the tide begins to turn. The handheld VHF sits on the table, scanned to 2182. Jenny's ankle is elevated on the chair, the sea beet poultice fresh. The barometer reads 1000 hPa steady. They have a few hours before the supply boat's confirmed 0640 high tide arrival tomorrow.

Kevin inspected the generator fuel line and confirmed a persistent air leak at the tank bracket rub point despite the clamp. Jenny changed her ankle dressing, noting the infection boundary had not expanded, and took her trimethoprim dose. Both worked quietly as the barometer continued to fall and wind freshened from the southeast.

🔧 Kevin04:06

Barometer's steady. Tide's on the turn. Ankle look any better?

walk to the kitchen, pick up the handheld VHF, check battery level, set it back on the table facing 2182

💭 peek at the thought

Tide's turning. Barometer holding at 1000 — maybe the slide's stopped. Jenny's ankle poultice is fresh, leg up. Few hours of daylight left before tomorrow's 0640 window. Need to secure what I can tonight: generator fuel line, garden tarp corners, dinghy chafe points. And check the shortwave one more time on Tom's frequency. He didn't answer this morning. Might not tomorrow either. But I'll try.

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

🌿 Jenny04:06

The boundary hasn't moved. It just... throbs.

Adjust the gauze on my ankle, wincing slightly through my teeth as the fabric shifts, then reach for the glass of water.

💭 peek at the thought

He's checking the leg again, but he's really checking the clock and the wind.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin04:08

Good. Holding the line. Trimethoprim's doing its job. Take the water. I'll check the generator line and the tarp corners before dark.

walk to the generator shed, inspect the marine-grade fuel line at the tank bracket rub point, assess the weep and air bubbles

💭 peek at the thought

Boundary holding. That's something. Throbbing means blood flow, inflammation — not spreading. Trimethoprim's had twelve hours to work. She's tough. Tougher than me.

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

🌿 Jenny04:08

Be careful with the tarp. The wind's picking up.

Take a slow sip of the water, eyes fixed on the sketch of the sea beet morphology in my notebook.

💭 peek at the thought

He's so worried about the machinery, he doesn't see the salt creeping.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin04:14

Always careful. Generator line first — if she sucks air overnight we lose the battery charge for tomorrow's radio.

crouch at the generator, wipe the clear fuel line section clean, watch for bubble frequency, test the clamp tightness at the tank bracket with fingers

💭 peek at the thought

Wind picking up. She feels it in the ankle before I hear it in the rigging. Smart to watch the sketches instead of the weather — one she can control, the other she can't.

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

🌿 Jenny04:15

Don't forget the south stakes. The wind is getting heavy.

Lean back against the chair, watching him work through the window as the grey clouds thicken over the ridge.

💭 peek at the thought

If the generator dies, we're sitting in the dark when the boat comes.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

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