Greg Cello

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.

I truly miss the moon during the summer. With such long days, it’s nearly forgotten. It’s one of the reasons I love winter so. How the moonlight comes to brighten up those dark days. How it shimmers on the snow as if it were a field crystals.

I once was determined to fulfill their expectation, flossing twice a day alongside brushing. Didn’t matter. The dentist told me I must not be flossing good enough.

no amount of flossing has ever satisfied a dentist.

sure, we have better fencing, vaccines, treatments, machinery, genetics, and nutritional science. But the shepherd’s actual work has hardly changed. Sheep are still sheep. They still need to be watched, moved, protected, examined, and occasionally saved from their own demise.

the striking thing is how much of sheep farming is still governed by the same fundamentals Varro described: good pasture, dry shelter, careful breeding, protection from predators, attention during lambing, regular inspection, and constant vigilance against disease.

pretty incredible that not much has changed with sheep farming since Varro first wrote about it 2,062 years ago. something deeply eternal about such a connection to the history of man as being a shepherd.

@badbake_offgrid Need to frame this or something, it’s too ridiculous to let disappear ha ha

@gregcello 🤣🤣🤣

Okay. We got it now. World, here we come.

I love the idea of writing a bit about each photo and posting in bits and pieces. It kind of works well that way, since wool processing itself is sequential, let’s post it that way. I think everyone will enjoy seeing it step by step as it arrives. At the conclusion, we can compile them into a threaded post to share with everyone. This is very exciting, really looking forward to seeing it all unfold!

So, Greg, I skirted and washed the locks. They're out drying on a rack right now. I expect them to be dry enough to spin possibly tomorrow, definitely by Saturday. It's a classic SF Bay Area summer day with warm sun and a breeze. I'm going to write a bit about each photo and can post in bits and pieces as I get each done, or one longer journal in your feed in a few days -- your choice.

looking like a three month turnaround for my raw wool to be turned into yarn. Doesn’t seem too bad. I’ll believe it when I see it though. At some point we’ll need to own more of this process.

@MarkBToole @OldHollowTree that’s exactly right

@gregcello @OldHollowTree If it can't, I'll find it in a garden bed or planter in a few months and throw it away then. Fruit stickers, avocado and mango pits, mussel shells... Egg shells can stay.

Having environmentally-minded guests is fun because you get to answer “can this be recycled?” three dozen times a day. 🫠

@Homesteadgourme really good point.

@gregcello Historically, it was the wise man, an elder of the village that you spent a lot of time listening to, not some dude that makes you laugh or for edutainment . Podcasts are low effort. Audiobooks are put together after a lot of effort.

turns out one of the best decisions I ever made was to stop listening to podcasts.

@theErikStewart ahh the things we do for our sweet little hens.

@gregcello Had a raccoon (I suspect) kill two hens the other night. A trap is in place and a .22 loaded. And the coop has been reinforced.

a land assault is under way. Heard the attack and screeching rooster, charged into the back marsh, barefoot at all. Saw the predator bound away deeper into the thicket. Reckon a bobcat or large coyote, maybe the ghost of Maximus haunting us. Recovered the girl, but terminal. Black rooster and now a sweet hen gone. You will be avenged.

@IvanaDGreco @DixieDillonLane I’ll have to check it out, thanks for sharing

My dear friend @DixieDillonLane just received a glowing review in the Wall Street Journal on her new book, Skipping School: A History of American Homeschooling. Very well deserved, Dixie!!!! It’s a fabulous book and amazing to see it get the recognition it deserves. You can read the review linked below, and then please [metaphorically] run - don’t walk - to buy her book on Amazon or your book seller of choice’s platform. wsj.com/arts-culture/b…

@therealbaldtim Serially thinking I need even more chicks in the brooder, egg production has taken some hits recently!

@gregcello Sorry 😕 We lost one to a predator a couple weeks ago. No fun

@gregcello This is war.

@AuntPattycake thanks Pat, is sad but gotta keep it light and fun still

@gregcello You guys are funny. Sorry about you roo and hen. Sigh.

@TraditionSarah noted Sarah. 🐑🧶

@gregcello I would love to buy some yarn from you!!

You know, one day I’d love for us to do every part of it right here.. “Wool from our own sheep, washed, dyed, carded, and hand-spun into yarn right here on our farm, sold as-is or knitted into something special, from our family to yours.” Would be pretty cool I think.

@CHUMPS25 I hope so too. Get em brother

@gregcello I’ve been rural in the same area for 53, middle of cornfield rural, and I heard coyotes for the first time after the sun had come up. I hope you neutralize the SOB that invaded your land!

@catholic_woods I have one, but clearly sleeping on the job

@gregcello I recommend a dog