Scott Rabideau

The Farm

A man sitting on a cart with sweet potatoes and potatoes in wooden crates, set against a backdrop of trees and a rustic barn.

It was a stroke of good fortune that I was able to purchase the Taft Farm, a 50-acre parcel with a 1937 American Craftsman house, and quite frankly, I was able to do it simply because I was in the right profession.  As a wetland biologist, I had the opportunity to meet and work with many real estate professionals in my career. In the fall of 1998, one of these professionals knocked on my door: He had just signed the listing agreement for the Taft Farm and wanted to know if I was interested in buying it.

The rest is history, and that real estate agent often told the story of the fastest commission of his career. He signed the listing with the executor, walked across the street to our house, and sold the property to me — all within an hour.   

Over the last 25 years of owning the property, there have been many conversations between my wife and I about what we were going to do with the farm when I retired. Well, retirement is here, so now the real planning — and work — can begin in earnest. 

The summer of 2026 will be the first full planting season of my retirement. That’s not to say we haven’t gardened on the property before. Currently, there are a dozen raised beds in a small fenced-in garden, a separate 5-acre fenced area for our dog Maisy, as well as five producing apple trees, a dedicated flower garden, a new beehive, and three old alpacas, the source of a good amount of organic fertilizer.

The plan for this year is to use a patch of the field for a large pumpkin and winter squash garden, transplant the blueberries from their current spot in the shade to a sun-splashed location within the fence line, add more fruit trees, and improve the flower garden to increase dahlia production — this last one is my daughter’s passion project, but I’m more than happy to help. 

It is an ambitious amount to accomplish, but count on the fact that I plan to write about successes and failures.  

A white alpaca standing in a lush green field with tall grass and trees in the background.
We adopted our three senior alpacas from the MSPCA, and I think it’s safe to say they have a nice “retirement home.”

My Latest Posts

  • ‘The Road Scott Traveled’
    This winter, my wandering mind came up with a fun idea for my retirement: to bring back the concept of road tripping without using an interstate highway. And to truly bring it back in time: No map apps or even mobile phones will be used for the trip. Paper maps only.