Little House by the Vineyard

A Blog Column by Jay Bryant

Little House by the Vineyard is a blog column reflecting on life on the farm, through the unique perspective of Jay Bryant, Union Grove Farm’s Poet Laureate.

Jay Bryant is a retired speechwriter, communications consultant for U.S. Senators, congressmen and governors, television producer, internet columnist, radio personality, poet and author who now lives in a little house by the vineyard at Union Grove Farm. He has been a commentator on National Public Radio’s All Things Considered. He and Greg Bohlen collaborated on the novel The Sugar Rat, and the non-fiction work, Common Men. Jay also authored the novel Earth and Water.

Reach out to Jay: [email protected]

Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Katahdin Sheep

In 1957, three hair sheep boarded a ship at the dock in Christiansted, St. Croix bound for Boston. It was the exact same route taken by young Alexander Hamilton in 1772 when he first came to America. Hamilton is considered one of the founding fathers of the U.S of A. The three sheep are considered… Continue reading

Monoculture

Quick, what’s the definition of the word Monoculture? Is it: A. A country with only one ethnic group? B. A lab sample with only one pathogen, or C. A field planted in only one crop? If you said “C” you win the prize, at least for this column. “Mono” of course, means “one,” and the… Continue reading

The Rise and Fall of the Plow

The Rise and Fall of the Plow The story is that an Illinois blacksmith named John Deere invented the plow in 1837 out of a broken sawmill blade, but in truth the plow had been around for several generations prior to that. Like maybe four hundred generations. (Allowing 20 years per generation, four hundred… Continue reading