Greg Cello

Shepherding more than just sheep.

[Greg Cello @gregcello]

A little introduction for new and old followers alike:

First off, I’m no one special in the grand scheme of things, but I’d like to think I’m very special to my family, and I’ve designed my life off that presumption.

My name is Greg, and I live with my young, growing Catholic family of 6 in northwestern RI on our homestead, where we homeschool our kids and tend to our chickens, veggies and flowers (with more additions planned in the future).

I write for a Substack publication called Kinward and record a daily podcast called The Dissident Dad Show, while working on building a family business.

I believe in this idea called eternalist generationalism, where responsibility doesn’t end with my lifespan or my kids’ childhoods, because it reaches upward to God and eternity, and outward into the moral, spiritual, economic, and ecological world my descendants (and my neighbors’ descendants) will have to live in. If eternity is real, then I’m obligated to build a rightly ordered micro-civilization, not just carve out a private, comfortable life.

I think we’d all be a little better off if we focused on our local economies of land, people, and politics rather than getting worked up over national or global happenings. In fact, I think we’d be much happier overall.

I love New England and American wouldn’t live anywhere else. I have ancestry going back to the Mayflower, so you could say I’m a Mayflower American. I’ve also fought for this country, and so have five generations of men in my family. But you wouldn’t see my kids or me going abroad to fight in any wars right now; rather, if anything, you’ll see us fighting for our own local communities and people if it came to that.

I love nature and the American landscape; exploring it, being tethered to it. One of the greatest feelings is walking through the woods all day watching a bird dog run around looking for grouse and woodcock and the thrill that comes from shooting it when flushed. I think our lives would be more enriched if we conserved this natural world of ours as best as possible.

Finally, I think the nihilistic mind rot of our modern age has destroyed so much beauty that used to exist in our homes, architecture, landscaping, the way we dress and treat others, our faith in a higher being, our cooking and baking and how we even present it, and even how we just think, act, and converse with ourselves and each other.

We destroy nihilism through beauty.

The beauty found in family, faith, nature, traditions, our communities and parishes, and having the freedom to live this way without being oppressed by any governmental entity.

Thanks for following along.

[Greg Cello @gregcello]

@thequeenofrust thank you laura 🫡🇺🇸

[Greg Cello @gregcello]

after leaving the military, i spent years in various fields -- venture capital, consulting, biotech, clinical research, graduate studies, executive recruiting -- but it wasn't until i finally stepped into the *field* outside my own home and began stewarding it for, and alongside, my children that something in my military soul finally found a little peace.

with each successive addition to our land -- a garden, flowers, chickens, more flowers, sheep, even more flowers -- I found myself becoming more fulfilled in ways none of those former fields had ever made possible.

i've come to know many veterans who have found a similar peace in returning to the land. so many, in fact, that i've begun to wonder whether there's something almost necessary about it. perhaps after spending years in the service of one's country, there's something profoundly restorative about spending the remaining years cultivating a small piece of it.

i'm sure there are other paths through which veterans find the same sense of meaning. ultimately, i think that's what so many of us are searching for.

over the coming years, as i build out this sheep-based, rooted economy project of mine here in new england, i hope to do more than inspire fellow veterans to return to the land. i hope to help make it possible for them too.

[Greg Cello @gregcello]

to the lady continuously looking back at us at the veterans day mass today

yes, that’s our 18mo son making cooing noises, he’s quite adorable.

[Greg Cello @gregcello]

@Chris_Arsenault and thank you chris 🫡🙏

[Greg Cello @gregcello]

@Chris_Arsenault the most important service to pursue.

[Greg Cello @gregcello]

@SevierlyBlessed 🫡🐑

[Greg Cello @gregcello]

thinking i might need to start posting a sheep every day for the remainder of 2026, similar to my good friend Barns Wallis. barns and sheep are kind of like two peas in a pod you know.

[Barns Wallis @BarnsWallisMD]

Posting a barn every day of 2026

[Greg Cello @gregcello]

@BarnsWallisMD then sheep everyday in 2027 they’ll get!

[Greg Cello @gregcello]

@agbegin thank you andrew 🫡🦅

[Greg Cello @gregcello]

fellow vets: you are worthy.

[Greg Cello @gregcello]

@CourtneyMeehan3 thanks courtney, it’s a beautiful team to be on.

[Greg Cello @gregcello]

@badbake_offgrid thank you brian 🫡🇺🇸

[Greg Cello @gregcello]

@Saint_138 @OldHollowTree a beautiful thing.

[Greg Cello @gregcello]

@Chris_Arsenault we need to make stewardship more profitable than extraction

[Greg Cello @gregcello]

i’ve met way more guys tearing down barns than putting them up. recently asked one how many he’d taken down

“working on my fifth this year”

“how many of those ended up in a new barn?”

“none. most of the lumber goes into high-end remodels.”

[Greg Cello @gregcello]

@Quincey_Morris_ i do not post these for likes, i post for thoughts, my and yours alike, and your thought is right on the mark here

[Greg Cello @gregcello]

@DannyHeinz57 we've become extraordinarily good at producing agricultural commodities and remarkably bad at reproducing agricultural communities.

[Greg Cello @gregcello]

@Huggins2687 thank you huggins 🙏

[Greg Cello @gregcello]

madison just came running down the stairs

“happy veterans day daddy” as she hopped on my lap and cuddled in.

don’t need much more than that.

[Greg Cello @gregcello]

the inevitable result of the dramatic decline of working landscapes over the decades, especially here in new england.

[Greg Cello @gregcello]

@badbake_offgrid heartbreaking

[Greg Cello @gregcello]

@nicholascarrigg reminding me that i really need to finish an article ive been working on for too long now about my chicken coop and run build.

but here’re some design principles I’ve come to really appreciate-

[Greg Cello @gregcello]

two key features I designed off of when building our chicken coop:

1. elevated / raised-floor design (prevents ground contact, deters digging predators/rodents, improves drainage, and makes the whole structure last decades longer)

2. wide, full-height human access door positioned at perfect wheelbarrow height so you can simply rake or shovel straight out into the bin without lifting or carrying anything