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Tuesday, January 26 was an ordinary evening – as ordinary as an evening can be in these extraordinary times. After preparing the evening meal, it was time to head back to the cabin for the evening. Except on that particular night, big, wet snowflakes were falling from the dark sky. Of the few guests here, some had just made it in before roads closed at higher elevations. The last few months have brought several natural rarities: a Blue Moon on Halloween; Mars’ closest approach to Earth since 2003; Saturn and Jupiter in their closest conjunction since 1623; and now, waking up to snow laying gently on the hills and along Sulphur Creek.
We often speak of the benefits of being at Wilbur Hot Springs, where you can feel the natural rhythm of the land synchronizing you as time passes here. Rudolf Steiner said, “Only man is permitted to live without rhythm in order that he can become free. However, he must of his own accord bring rhythm again into the chaos.” Here at Wilbur, we can feel the deep truth of those sentences. The swish of the water dripping from the flume to the creek, the wind whistling through the hills and the reeds, the owl’s cry in the darkness; Nature composes a sense of peace that’s not audible above the roar of technology, vehicles and information. Here, when it snowed, we all experienced joy, went outside, smiled and remembered what it was like to stop and admire Nature, ‘bringing rhythm again to the chaos.’
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| | Wilbur Open For Overnight Stays
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| On January 12, Governor Newsom announced that the Greater Sacramento Region had achieved its forecasted goal and ended our region’s Stay Home Order. Wilbur re-opened again the following weekend for overnight guests. We are all grateful to be open and look forward to your return. Here are some things to know when preparing to visit Wilbur at this time: - The community kitchen is unavailable until our region’s indoor dining restrictions are ended. In place of the community kitchen, guests will have the option of participating in an American Plan (3 meals per day) during overnight stays. The cost of the plan will vary, but currently is at $35 per person per day. Our new Chef, Michael Fornasero, and Cooks Melissa, Tony and Rose are preparing locally sourced, organic, farm to table style whole foods for guests to take outside or to their guest room.. So far, folks are loving the food program and have commented on its convenience - thank you for all the comments and helpful input!
- There is a two-night minimum in place in order to reduce the housekeeping risk for Covid-19. If space allows, we may still be able to accept a few one-night stays on a last-minute basis.
- While we are still in the purple tier, gathering in the hotel is not permitted, but some changes continue inside. Reception has been relocated to its original space in the front of the building, and the refreshed Country Store will be open soon in the same location as before. We plan to re-open 2 historic queen bedrooms in the hotel this spring!
- Wilbur needs Evening Attendants - if interested please apply HERE.
During the winter, our phone service is notoriously fragile. Thank you for your patience as we work towards a more permanent solution to that service. All messages and e-mails are much appreciated and will be answered as quickly as possible! |
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| The Robinson Creek Ponies
We have bittersweet news about the ponies! Due to acute medical needs, we re-homed them recently with the assistance of Sacramento area non-profit All About Equine Animal Rescue.
The ponies were once a part of a larger feral herd, known as the Robinson Creek Ponies, from the hills west of Ukiah in Mendocino County. An equine rescue group found them a new home and they were brought to the Nature Preserve in 2017 by Dr. Richard and Jolee Miller, former owners of Wilbur. At Wilbur, they were able to roam wild again.
Over the last year, the ponies have had several medical emergencies. Last spring they were corralled and placed on a strict diet to recover from founder. Since then, they have become less wild and more comfortable approaching humans (perhaps curiously, but sometimes aggressively) looking for handouts. This winter again brought the need for immediate medical care for their hooves. Vet visits were difficult to arrange and we anticipated the risk that they would founder again when eating the new grass, and have no medical care available.
Wilbur’s efforts to obtain medical care for the ponies were not successful, but we were able to enlist the help of one concerned Wilbur guest, Kyle Hurst, to work with them and get them more accustomed to being handled. We found an opportunity to re-home them through All About Equine Animal Rescue. All About Equine was able to come on January 11 and collect the ponies - with an amazing amount of expertise and skill.
Although we are all sad to see them go, we find comfort in the fact that the ponies are headed for a safer and more suitable place. At the end of the day, we feel that we made the best decision for the ponies. Wilbur has made a donation to All About Equine Animal Rescue as a parting gift to the five ponies - and if you enjoyed seeing them at Wilbur, we suggest you consider donating to this exceptional organization. Our sincere thanks go out to Kyle and to everyone who helped see the ponies off to their next chapter.
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| | 3375 Wilbur Springs Road, Wilbur Springs, CA 95987-9709 - 530-473-2306
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