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Local Resident Celebrates The Lessons Learned On The Farm

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Tuesday June 28, 2016

New Haven resident Cathy Palmer wants the young people of Addison County to know a little about the adventures, work, and fun of life on a small Vermont farm from over fifty years ago before agribusiness, computers and paved roads. Cathy Palmer grew up with seven siblings on a farm in Panton and her book is a memoir written for young readers and illustrated with her own cover art and line drawings. The story is set in 1963 and focuses on the experiences of raising an orphan crow on their farm.
    Cathy was born into an Addison County family where there were two constants, music and farming. Cathy Tisbert Palmer and her family were a familiar sight to many Addison County residents due to the family’s performances in a variety of musical theatre. The story focuses on the daily life of the group on the farm and coming of age and finding an injured baby crow. The book chronicles the fieldwork, growth, learning and how to help, love and let go. A teacher of musical and theatre arts, Catherine Palmer is also a visual artist and writes this book for adult readers and readers from eight to nine years of age. Through the antics, experiences and a good amount of trial and error, Cathy and the crow Hannibal learn about belonging, family dynamics and the life cycle and habits of Vermont crows. The book also showcases the unique and distinct personalities of Palmer’s siblings and parents who draw on each other and the life lessons of the farm to guide them.
    The book came about after Palmer started feeding a pair of wild crows two winters ago and watching the pair getting increasingly bolder as they came closer to her when she fed them. She recalled to mind the joy of that farm crow from so many years ago and began writing the comical and sometimes frustrating incidents of her and her siblings’ interactions with that crow. The result is “Crow in the Window” by Catherine M. Palmer and is now available at The Vermont Book Shop in Middlebury, Tubby Treasures Emporium in Vergennes, at Amazon.com as both paperback and e-book and will be available for a signed copy at Palmer’s art booth, Green Mountain Horsepower at Addison County Fair and Field Days.

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