Since last Monday morning started rainy I went to Iron City out by The Golden Rule in Irondale (hardly delicious at all) to find a capstone.
I fitted my paper pattern onto several
likely stones looking for one with good
color (it's orange on the other side)
and an acceptable shape.
Having a tree fall on it wasn't a good thing, but it may actually save this ten year old, backyard, pizza oven. The ragged hole next to the flue doesn't look new. 
Water working it's way out had weakened and eroded the mortar in many places leaving voids. Orange sand that had once been buff colored mortar was sprouting weeds in several places.
Careful picking, and deep moist re-pointing in stages were required, before more serious repairs could begin.
With a scaffold in place re-pointing and repairing the chimney face went quickly.
The oven door arch and the top the dome went back together like they'd always been that way, even though with no picture and lots of extra rocks around it was guess work.
Some of the largest cavities were around the lower oven.
Filling them helped strengthen the whole oven face.
After plugging the flue to keep any
mortar or stone debris from falling
out of reach David (Orange) and I
hoisted the capstone onto the scaffold settled it into place. Chinking around under the capstone and supplementing
the pointing used up the last bucket of mud and the rest of the day.
It would have been way too risky to lift the capstone over our heads with a hole in it. Also the vibration
of cutting it in place might have caused the mud to migrate under the stone so we waited till the next day to cut the new chimney hole.
Once the chimney hat was re-fitted, the scaffold was returned and the footing was exposed, all that was left was to make a new door for the oven. The oak from the stone pallet made a sturdy slow burning (especially when wet) replacement door.
Ok, now if we could just get some moss to grow on the Doggy Dome
Oh yeah, back off pizza boy.
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