February’s Digital Postcard

February’s Digital Postcard
Saturday February 28, 2026

Hello All;

Well, where did February go?  The month has been long dry period for photography but I have full intentions of kicking myself in the butt and get out even if it is just a walk around the block or take the long route to the bus stop, few extra steps don’t hurt either!!

I have wondered what I was going to share this month, the snowy owls found earlier this month or maybe a weather photo or maybe maybe portrait that I took.  But I had already shared the owls, weather well its winter and I am longing for spring and well, the portrait project it still being worked on!  

So I have been itching to wander through the Deane House Gardens, yes, in the snow.  You would be surprised how interesting old dead flowers can be, especially if there is a layer of snow and great shadows!!  Maybe I will share those later with you all.

Now located on the property of the Deane House are 2 tiny shacks and their claim to fame is that they are the 2 oldest structures in Calgary.  The Hunt Cabin (bet 1876-1881) and the Metis Cabin (1875), and from what I have read they are still in original (or close to original locations).  The tiny shacks have been moved about over the years, but have been moved back and restored.

The Metis Cabin is the image I am sharing.   It was here before Calgary was Calgary and before the Railway roared into the tent town of Calgary in 1883.  The Northwest Mounted Police helped established Fort Calgary and well, I guess the West was Win.  

“It is likely a surviving structure of the original Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) trading post that was moved and re-opened here by HBC clerk John Bunn in 1875.

John and his wife Jemima were both Metis from the Red River Settlement (now Winnipeg).  Not a lot is known about them, but it seems clear that John’s decision to move his post here helped shape this community and the future of the city of Calgary.”

 The Métis are a distinct Indigenous people in Canada, originating from 18th-century unions between European fur traders and First Nations women, developing their own unique culture, language (Michif), and nationhood.