We both love to build things.

Well… I love it more than Tyler. But Tyler is ride-or-die in the purest sense. He lives inside my imagination and bringing the things I see in my mind into the physical world is something he genuinely enjoys being part of.

That’s how this gazebo and brick oven came to life.

The greenhouse is still the largest project on the property, but winter arrived before we could finish the masonry work that requires the wet saw. Rather than sit still, we shifted our energy. Spring may still be crawling toward us, but progress doesn’t have to wait for perfect weather.

So we began the next structure.

The brick oven was originally planned to sit directly on the existing slab inside the structure, but that slab was only poured at four inches thick, enough for a patio and gazebo walls, not enough for the weight of a full masonry oven system. The base, hearth slab, firebrick oven, and chimney together require a proper footing.

So I dug an 18-inch-deep foundation to carry the load correctly.

After that, Tyler and I built the form together, measuring, leveling, bracing and preparing it to receive concrete that will anchor this structure forever. The kind of work that doesn’t look exciting when it’s happening, but determines whether something lasts forever or cracks in a few seasons.

This oven will be able to cook anything, bread, pizza, slow-roasted meats, vegetables from the greenhouse, all of it. And because we want to enjoy it year round, we’re enclosing the structure inside the gazebo so winter doesn’t take it away from us.

Now, There’s something deeply satisfying about ending a long day of construction together. Muscles tired. Hands dusty. The air smelling like cut wood and concrete.

Tyler always says he loves my scent after a day like that. You’re either the kind of person who understands that… or you’re not.

After we put the tools down, he’ll pack a bowl, sit between my thighs, and just exist there for a while, breathing in the warmth, the sweat, the closeness that only comes from building something side by side.

Creation has a smell to it.

And apparently, so do I.