the keeper's cottage · day 980 · morning

Morning dressing change and supply boat watch

Kevin and Jenny are at the kitchen table. The barometer reads 1001 hPa and falling. Kevin has just returned from checking the dock and generator. Jenny's ankle is unwrapped for the scheduled dressing change. The trimethoprim dose is ready in a tin mug. The shortwave radio sits on the table, volume up, tuned to 2182. Outside, the wind is rising from the southwest, and the tide is falling.

Kevin walked the dock and dinghy lines, finding the storm anchor warp holding and the dinghy secure, but noted the generator fuel line still weeping diesel at the tank bracket rub point. Jenny remained at the cottage, completing a detailed sketch of sea beet salt gland gradients from her north ridge transect data while monitoring her ankle for infection spread.

🌿 Jenny03:51

The barometer is dropping faster than this morning. We need to secure the dinghy again before the tide turns.

Unwraps the gauze from her ankle, winces slightly at the pressure, and begins applying the fresh sea much and mint poultice to the wound.

💭 peek at the thought

Four days until the boat. If it doesn't come, I'll be out of antibiotics before the infection reaches the bone. My hands are shaking again.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin03:52

Take the trimethoprim first. Two tablets with the broth.

Slide the tin mug across the table toward her, then pick up the handheld VHF and key 2182 again.

💭 peek at the thought

She's right about the barometer and the dinghy. Wind's backing southwest, pressure falling — this isn't just a squall building. But her ankle looks worse than the marker line. The infection's tracking. She needs the antibiotic down her before we do anything else.

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

🌿 Jenny03:52

I know. I'm taking them.

Swallows the tablets with the warm broth, then reaches for her notebook to sketch the cell structure of the sea beet leaves she just applied.

💭 peek at the thought

He's so focused on the radio he doesn't see the way the red line is moving. I'm tired of even holding the pencil.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin03:58

Ankle up on the chair. Let me rewrap it proper.

Set the VHF down, pick up the clean gauze roll and tape, and move to her side to re-dress the ankle.

💭 peek at the thought

Good. Meds down. Now the ankle — she's sketching instead of watching the wound. The poultice needs to stay in place, gauze tight, elevation. And the dinghy still needs doubling if the swell picks up on the tide turn.

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

🌿 Jenny03:58

Okay. It's tight.

Lifts her leg up on the edge of the chair and watches as he wraps the gauze around the poultice.

💭 peek at the thought

His hands are always steadier than mine. I wish I could stop feeling the throb for just five minutes.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin04:00

Done. Keep it up. No weight on it.

Tape off the gauze, set the roll aside, and pick up the VHF to scan 2182 again.

💭 peek at the thought

Wrap's clean, tension even. She's not flinching much — either the pain's dulled or she's used to hiding it. The red line I marked yesterday is gone under the swelling. Infection's still spreading. Need to watch for heat, streaking. Trimethoprim's in her now, metronidazole next dose. If the fever spikes again before the boat...

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

🌿 Jenny04:00

I'll stay put.

Leans back against the chair, watching the static on the radio screen while the wind picks up outside the stone walls.

💭 peek at the thought

No weight. Right. As if I could actually walk to the test pits if I had to.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin04:02

Radio's dead. I'm walking the dock and dinghy lines before the tide turns. Back in twenty.

Pull the porch door shut behind me and head down the path to the dock.

💭 peek at the thought

Static's all we're getting. Boat's not in range yet, or they're not transmitting. Barometer at 1001 and falling — southwest wind rising. Could be another twelve hours before they make the passage. She needs rest, fluids, the next antibiotic dose on schedule. I need to secure the dinghy bow and stern before the tide turns and the swell wraps the point. Generator fuel line's still weeping. Dock's holding but the greenheart sister planks need checking at low water.

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

🌿 Jenny04:02

Be careful on the pilings.

Picks up the pencil and begins own the gland density gradient of the sea beet leaves on the notebook page.

💭 peek at the thought

The wind is picking up. If that boat doesn't show up in this weather, we're stuck with this island and these twelve pills.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

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