diff --git a/skills/.manifest.json b/skills/.manifest.json
index 05cc8aa..9de10db 100644
--- a/skills/.manifest.json
+++ b/skills/.manifest.json
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@
     "network_info.py": "bd776b619cf7c18d67fe03cb0f0456cf9c4f9bf71475740a233a9ca1e6672fcd",
     "notes.py": "7d50d1544ea955f59917a1f0e7902d115e9dbccd3188b641057a55b6a5b2803a",
     "notification_reader.py": "681208ae4253dfe549512cce4c722c76ca85f2bbbdb8737e37c026ec9444c972",
-    "observer_recall.py": "3744907b24ffbfbb385a630791c08ecd440f6107f21894af80ceb07191f5eb1f",
+    "observer_recall.py": "f7084d11c069603d815e648dd765628bfed6d31c1df4ac59f0dac35259aa6fe2",
     "password_generator.py": "f11a917299e14cbd2560111da0bb748cd08792cf715cc4098c64eb62da8c54e3",
     "philips_hue.py": "fa831712c39dc6327c84199d8f0aeb09a169a264ce3d936cc337a5c5d6632f7e",
     "pilot.py": "f9967890f138bc7a48ae4abc8b4170dca13961b81659ef4e530dc619c1cf90d4",
diff --git a/skills/observer_recall.py b/skills/observer_recall.py
index 0a74ac0..45a9a52 100644
--- a/skills/observer_recall.py
+++ b/skills/observer_recall.py
@@ -43,6 +43,37 @@ def _load_entries() -> tuple[list, str]:
         return [], ""
 
 
+# Absolute / clock-time asks the buffer can NEVER answer: it's a RAM ring of the
+# last N snapshots (~10 min at the active cadence), not a day log. Without this
+# check, "between 11am and 1pm" parsed as no-window → summarised the last few
+# minutes and looked like a confident, wrong answer.
+_ABSOLUTE_TIME_RE = re.compile(
+    r"\b\d{1,2}\s*(?:am|pm)\b"
+    r"|\b\d{1,2}:\d{2}\b"
+    r"|\b(?:today|yesterday|this morning|this afternoon|this evening|"
+    r"last night|earlier today|tonight)\b",
+    re.IGNORECASE,
+)
+
+
+def _is_absolute_time_request(task: str) -> bool:
+    """True for clock-time / calendar-day asks ("between 11am and 1pm", "today",
+    "this morning") — windows the ring buffer structurally cannot cover."""
+    return bool(_ABSOLUTE_TIME_RE.search(task or ""))
+
+
+def _coverage(entries: list) -> str:
+    """Human span the buffer actually covers, e.g. "06:59–07:32 (33 min)"."""
+    if not entries:
+        return "nothing"
+    first, last = _parse_ts(entries[0]), _parse_ts(entries[-1])
+    if not first or not last:
+        return f"{len(entries)} snapshots"
+    mins = max(0, int((last - first).total_seconds() // 60))
+    return (f"{first.astimezone().strftime('%H:%M')}–"
+            f"{last.astimezone().strftime('%H:%M')}, about {mins} min")
+
+
 def _window_seconds(task: str) -> int | None:
     """Parse a lookback window from the task. Returns seconds, or None for 'all'.
 
@@ -140,6 +171,20 @@ def run(task: str, context: str = "") -> str:
             "clipboard, and recent files each minute."
         )
 
+    # Clock-time / calendar asks ("between 11am and 1pm", "today", "this
+    # morning") are structurally unanswerable: the observer is a RAM ring of the
+    # last N snapshots, not a day log. Say so plainly — the old code fell through
+    # to "summarise everything" and returned the last few minutes as if it had
+    # answered the question.
+    if _is_absolute_time_request(task):
+        return (
+            f"I can't recall that window. The observer is a rolling in-memory "
+            f"buffer of the last {len(entries)} snapshots — right now it only "
+            f"covers {_coverage(entries)} — not a full-day log, and it's wiped "
+            f"whenever the service restarts. Here's everything it currently "
+            f"holds:\n\n{_summarise(entries)}"
+        )
+
     win = _window_seconds(task)
     if win is not None:
         cutoff = datetime.now(timezone.utc).timestamp() - win