About Just Bee Cuz Honey Farm
The Honey Farm
Frances and Thomas McParland moved to the area from North Bay in 2018 to be closer to their grandchildren. They established Just Bee Cuz Honey Farm in 2019. It is a small apiary that consists of approximately 10 European Honey Bee (Apis Mellifera) colonies which are located at the rear of our 1.5 acre rural property that backs onto an extremely large parcel of prime agricultural lands.
Beekeeping In Retirement
Frances has always been an avid gardener and has a keen interest in pollinators and the impact they have on her gardens. Frances owned and operated a home care business for 13 years and knew that keeping bees was something she would do upon retirement. A few years before retirement, Frances began taking courses to prepare her for the important responsibility of maintaining beehives.
A Partner To The Bees
Frances considers her role as that of a partner rather than that of a “keeper of bees”. She supports, protects, and provides the hives with any necessary treatments to keep them healthy. In return they provide pollination services not only in her gardens but other agricultural and residential plantings up to 6 miles away, provide excess honey and wax, and allow her to fill her need to nurture and care for another species that resides on this beautiful planet called Earth.
Land Acknowledgement
The lands on which Just Bee Cuz Honey Farm exists are in the traditional territory of the Anishinabek, Huron-Wendat, and Haudenosaunee. This territory is covered by the Williams and Upper Canada Treaties. We thank all the generations of peoples who have been stewards of this place. We recognize and deeply appreciate their historic connection to this place and their contributions they have made, both in shaping and strengthening this community, our province, and country as a whole.
Frances and Thomas feel privileged to be able to reside on such a beautiful parcel of land and they work hard every day to ensure that the property is maintained in a respectful manner. No matter what part of Mother Earth our families originate from, we all have a responsibility to have a loving, responsible and meaningful relationship to the land.
About Plainfield, Ontario
Settled in about 1850, Plainfield was once called Yankee Mills, after its founder Yankee Wilson. Mr Wilson owned and operated flour and saw mills. The small village, along the shore of the Moira River, consisted of a few homes, a blacksmith shop, a church, and a post office. In the early 1900s a fire swept through the area and destroyed the entire village. Today, the area is mainly agricultural, with a scattering of residential properties along the Hwy 37 corridor.
Social Media
Bee Creative Shop
Frances has a little retail shop on the property where you can shop in store. She sells fresh raw honey and beeswax candles as well as bee themed decor, She has a large selection of her unique fused glass art and fused glass jewellery that make beautiful one of a kind gifts. During the fall/winter seasons, I teach fused glass art in monthly workshops. Do you want to bee creative? Sign up for a class online.http://www.apitourism.ca
Products:
I sell honey, beeswax candles, handmade honey oatmeal soap, and some bee themed decor. I also retail my fused glass art, many of which are landscapes, garden scenes, and flowered sun catchers.
Shop Hours:
The shop is not open regular hours, but I try to open most Saturdays if the weather is nice, or I can be open any time by appointment. You can also pop in if driving by and if I am home, I can be open for your shopping convenience.
In mid-October the store is open open most days 10-3 until mid-December. You do not need to book an Apitourism experience to shop.
