05/01/2026
After a lot of thought and consideration, Paul and I have decided to close Dragon's Lair Homestead page and move in another direction.
Why?
Well, it was a difficult decision, and an emotional one for me.
I've always wanted a homestead. It's a dream I've been chasing for about 15 years. It always seemed that something got in the way. Finances, circumstances, the wreck that put me in a wheelchair...
Now, it's my health.
Paul grew up on a decent size dairy farm in Indiana. I grew up watching my grandmother micro homestead (though no one called it that then). Chickens, ducks, a garden, fishing on the pontoon at night on the lake on weekends, fish fry on Sunday... It was the imprint of my childhood along with the scratch cooking and canning that my Great Aunt who raised me did every day. It was a memory that I wanted to build a life around.
With life and changing realities, comes moments where you have to be realistic with yourself.
Every day I sit and scroll all you beautiful people with blooming gardens, chickens, goats, etc and I sit in my wheelchair and dream. And then I cry.
What once lifted my heart has become a source of ongoing pain as my body continues to rebel.
Paul is working a regular job now, which is a really good thing in so many ways because financial insecurity is hard and stressful.
His time at home is limited now though, and he has his own hobbies he'd like to pursue. And honestly, so do I.
Reality is admitting that while I'm *not* done fighting, I also can't do it all. Not at 51 with chronic pain and fatigue and a TBI. Not with him having to be gone 5 days a week.
While fixating on trying to start a homestead, and becoming more and more depressed as reality sank in, I had to ask myself what part of this journey is worth the fight? What brings me joy and what is realistic?
The truth is, being in my kitchen, being domestic, caring for my husband, niece, dogs, and reptiles is what brings me joy.
They are the souls that look to me to fill a certain spot in their lives and I'm the one that created that expectation over the years.
That is my focus and wearing myself out trying to keep up with all the things that make a homestead a homestead, and then NOT being able to care for them, isn't worth the trade-off.
Being domestic doesn't make you a farmer or a homesteader. It's part of it, but not all of it. Cooking from scratch is part of it, but not all of it.
So, I have decided to step away from this dream and chase one that I feel is more realistic for me.
A couple of you woke up to an invite to a new Dragon's Lair page called Dragon's Lair: The Scratch-Made Home. No, I didn't invite all of the new friends I'd made here in the homestead and farming community because I realize that what I'm going to be doing over there isn't for everyone.
Instead, I decided to leave this post here for anyone who would like to come check us out. I won't be sending out massive follow invites, though a few of you may still see one pop up before it's over with if I think it's something you might be into.
This is where you'll see my domestic side. The food, the cleaning tips and me being the "crunchy" person I guess I've always been.
If that sounds like something you're into, or might want to learn about, please come give us a follow.
For those of you who don't but who have supported me in this part of my journey, I wish you all green gardens, healthy animals, and peaceful farms and homesteads. May you go into the future with love, light and hope for what tomorrow brings you. I wish you all well.
Peace and many blessings,
Dawn and Paul
The Hearth Keeper
