BOULDER, Colo. — Ethan Welty is thinking ahead to harvest time as he cycles through tidy Boulder streets pointing out apple, plum and mulberry trees on public and private land.

“We’re coming up on the best apple trees in Boulder,” said Welty, a geographer and PhD student specializing in glaciers in the University of Colorado’s Environmental Studies program. He was approaching a front-yard grove of trees.

Last summer and fall, Welty said, he never went to a supermarket for fruit. He had two apple trees in his own yard, but began looking for more produce when he bought a cider press. Once he started paying attention, he was astonished at the bounty, and determined it should be shared. Now, it can be, thanks to a website Welty started with a fellow CU student with shared interests in computers and urban foraging.

And the sharing goes well beyond Boulder.

Want to find walnuts free for the picking in Iowa City? Locate loquats in New Orleans? Discover where a mulberry tree grows in Brooklyn? Check out fallingfruit.org, the site Welty and Caleb Phillips launched in March. They have gathered information mapped by amateur enthusiasts across the country, and delved into inventories many cities and towns keep of trees on public spaces.

“I go around now with my head up in the canopy, looking for new things,” Welty said.

When he’s not cycling or walking the streets of Boulder looking up, his head is bowed over his laptop, searching for new sources or opening emails with offers of maps. As word spread, fallingfruit.org went international, with information coming from Australia, Britain, India, Israel and elsewhere. Welty was even sent a map of breadfruit trees on the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius.

“Clearly, there are some people out there who think both these things are cool,” Phillips said of the nexus of computer and food savvy. “Apparently there are enough people who think both of these things are cool that we have 600,000 sources.”

Welty and Phillips had each created small, local urban edibles maps before they happened upon each other at a meeting of Boulder Food Rescue, a volunteer organization Phillips had helped found to ferry to the needy the kind of perishable food that often gets tossed out by restaurants and grocery stores. Phillips, a Portland, Ore. native, was headed to the San Francisco area, where he now is based as a telecommuting CU adjunct professor of computer science. The day he met Welty, he had time to do little more than hand him his card.

“I didn’t expect anything to come of it,” Phillips said in a telephone interview. “Then, over the next two months, it was like, every day, I was working late at night on this.”

Two months later, in March, their site was launched.

Users first click on a hot spot on the site’s large-scale map. Then, with a series of clicks to more and more detailed maps, home in on, say, a myrtle in Tallahassee, Fla. A spotter has added a note about its guava-like fruit — “a bunch, and super tasty.” Links from there lead to more information from the Department of Agriculture or Wikipedia about a particular plant. Welty and Phillips welcome additions and updates.

They see the site as a way to bring together people who share their interests all over the world, online. They also envision real-world connections: Site users are advised to ask first before picking fruit on private property, which could lead to neighbors taking time to chat. Many people with fruit trees in their yards can be overwhelmed by produce, and are more than happy for help harvesting and consuming, Welty and Phillips have found. Some of the information they have mapped comes from property owners who want the world to know about their trees.

The site also lists organizations that can get surplus produce to the hungry.

“It’s a gateway activity — it certainly was for me — to some of the larger issues with food,” said Welty, who grew up in Seattle and France, and says he learned an appreciation for local food in the latter.

“If Caleb and I really get to dreaming, and we do, then it’s much more about invigorating an awareness of the potential for urban agriculture,” Welty said.

The variety of food that can be found growing in cities is striking. Not just dates or apples, but lindens, whose leaves can be used for tea, or Brazilian pepper trees in San Francisco whose fruit can be dried, ground and used like black pepper. Welty said a friend of his has even tapped one of the sugar maples lining Boulder’s main streets.

One of his own favorites is an apricot tree on the edge of a neighborhood with grand homes dating to the 19th century. The tree, whose fruit Welty has used to make beer and jams, looks as old as the nearby homes. Its sturdy, gnarled trunk invited climbing on a day spring flowers adorned its branches.

To see the map, which includes the urban harvest in Davis, visit www.fallingfruit.org.

For this one, however, stream-of-consciousness might be a better format. I’d like to ask forgiveness in advance for my lack of appropriateness or diplomacy as I discuss this, the most pressing of questions. Where will my son go to college?!!

I’m about two years early to have started this obsession, but with so many people around us in the midst of these decisions now, I caught the fever a bit early. Friends who’ve taken college tours, looked into financial aid and decided on a small, out-of-state private school have answers I want. And I pepper them with questions in a slightly crazed way.

Friend: My daughter is going to Stanford next year.

Me: WHAT? How did that happen? Did she cure cancer? Did you add a wing to the school? Do you have something dark on an admissions officer?

Of course I then feel bad that I don’t give credit to a student who obviously worked her butt off for this achievement, but therein lies the crux of my issue. Getting into a chosen college seems more like winning the lottery these days than being a worthy student. I mean, do you know how many “worthy” students are turned down from their top-choice schools? We’ve had a parade of fantastic high school interns at The Enterprise in the 11 years I’ve worked here, and I am regularly stunned that they aren’t able to write their own tickets to wherever they want to go. Seriously, why isn’t Oxford begging them to come to England?

This issue is complicated for me by my belief that going to a “good” school is the only ticket you need for success. (Remember how you’re going to forgive me for saying things without couching it in less-obnoxious language?)

To wit: I was a decent student in high school … could have been better, but I didn’t need to be because I went to the school of my dreams (UCLA) with a grade-point average in the 3′s. I had done exactly no community service, played on zero varsity sports teams, mastered no musical instruments, performed in not a single play and held no positions in student government. But UCLA let me go there any way, and I flourished. I credit my association with and graduation from this institution with most of the successes of my adult life.

Let me be clear, though. I didn’t get all A’s at UCLA, either, and I didn’t play on a team or hold a student office. I was just an average student at a very good school. Which is what and where I want my sons to be.

I’m sure it sounds crazy to say I hope my kids are average, but I really don’t want them to stress and obsess about being superstar students. What it takes to be the kind of student who is choosing between acceptances to Harvard, Princeton or Stanford is not conducive to the childhood I wish for them.

However, at serious odds with this is my urge for them to go to a “good” school. If I were being more diplomatic, I would, of course, acknowledge that there is no one perfect school, and each student can find the right place, etc. But I’m being honest: I want them to have the same opportunities I had without having to do what it would now take to get into UCLA (which received a record-breaking 100,000 applications for the upcoming school year).

Seriously, what is a parent to do?

At this point, toward the end of our son’s sophomore year, we try to inform him about what a college he is interested in might look for in an applicant. We don’t push him to take more AP classes or run for student government, but we do let him know that if he has his sights set on say, UC Berkeley, there are certain things he might do to be more attractive to them.

And maybe, without ruining his childhood, he will achieve the magic combination of activities, classes, grades and test scores and win the college lottery to the school of his choice — where he can be average.

— Tanya Perez is an associate editor at The Enterprise. Her column publishes every other week on Wednesdays or Thursdays. Reach her at tperez@davisenterprise.net. Follow her on Twitter at @enterprisetanya

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As part of its ground-floor renovations, Hallmark Inn, at First and F streets, has a new lobby — and two new tenants for its retail spaces.

The beautiful new lobby, with an entrance on the F Street side, features a wall dedicated to public art. A rail with cord attachments accommodates paintings and photographs of any size. Owners Reed and Susan Youmans gave me a tour on Wednesday. They already have the space booked for two months of Second Friday ArtAbout exhibits. It currently features art to be auctioned for Tour de Cluck. The grand opening for the lobby and retail spaces will be in September, when the hotel has its Aggie Welcome event.

The lobby, which replaced staff offices and its breakfast room, debuted earlier this month. Reed Youmans hopes to open Café 11o, a breakfast and lunch eatery, to hotel guests later this month, and to the public by mid-June. Menu items include oatmeal, Belgian waffles or eggs, served with fruit and Pepper Peddler Coffee. Hotel customers will receive a voucher. Lunches will feature sandwiches, salads and soups.

Next door, its new tenants include CREAM (Cookies Rule Everything Around Me), a Bay Area-based ice cream sandwich parlor. Patrons pick the cookie and ice cream flavor and it’s assembled for them. All natural and gourmet cookies, bars and ice cream also may be purchased separately, along with toppings. Other menu items include shakes, malts and floats. Vegan and gluten-free alternatives are available. For information, visit www.creamnation.com.

Another exciting new addition is a tasting room for Putah Creek Winery. The hotel has been serving the Davis wine during its happy hour, and winemaker Gene Glaeser planted and maintains the grape vines that grow in the hotel’s courtyard under its mural. Visit its website at putahcreekwinery.com.

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Dairy Queen is gone — but in name only. Owner Shahid Iqbal officially gave up his fight against the company and went independent this month. Its new name is Davis Burgers & Shakes, but its menu is “97 percent the same.”

The signage and menu board changed, but its prices and basic ingredients didn’t. The popular thick shakes, trademarked to DQ as Blizzards, have become Snow Storms.

Iqbal, who has owned the Dairy Queen since 1997, said it would have cost him $120,000 in cosmetic and accessibility upgrades to meet corporate demands. The burger and shake stand is one of Davis’ oldest fast-food restaurants.

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The Davis Food Co-op, 620 G St., now offers beer and cider on tap on the patio. Its selection rotates, but late last week it included Berryessa Brewing Common Sense, Racer 5 IPA and Crispin Cider. Tap hours are from 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.

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Roots Fair Trade, which featured “fairly traded gifts from around the world,” closed as of this month, after two years in business. It was at 231 G St.

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Wingstop opened on May 8 at 408 G St. The take-out restaurant makes Buffalo wings to order, with lots of choices for sauces.

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Underdog Decals is a new Davis business that creates custom designs like personalized decals, banners and signs.

The owners and Brent Coker and Elena Dunkle of Davis. For more information, visit www.underdogdecals.com or call 530-400-8642.

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The Melt should start serving “grilled cheese happiness” in Davis Commons this fall.

Expect a soft opening in late August, with a grand opening in September, once UC Davis classes start. The Bay Area chain usually promotes its grand openings through Facebook, giving fans a password for free food.

Its main menu features five different grilled cheese sandwiches, four soups, and five combos that include soups. Breakfast items are available as well. For details, visit www.themelt.com.

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Davis Community Church members are still working on a business plan to turn its 3,500-square-foot Fellowship Hall into “a nonprofit, collaborative tea and coffee house and arts venue.” Mosaic Tea & Coffee would provide job training and experience for people with disabilities. It would use a pay-it-forward model and cater to families.

The church is at Fourth and C streets. The business model calls for a community gathering place with music, theater, TEDx-style workshops and craft fairs. A children’s play area would entertain kids while adults gathered to enjoy Mosaic’s specialties: loose-leaf teas and gluten-free products.

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The Davis Warehouse, an indoor batting and training facility at 17C Arboretum Drive, closed on May 3.

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On May 9, Luci’s Salon moved from the E Street Plaza to 222 D St., Suite 9A.

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Literary specialist Michel A. Johnson is opening her own practice, The Savvy Reader, starting June 10, at 423 E St.

Johnson teaches language and literacy to native and non-native speakers. She specializes in Spanish and English learners, and language-based learning disabilities like dyslexia.

Reach her at 530-798-0791 or thesavvyreader@gmail.com.

— Wendy Weitzel is a Davis resident. Her column runs occasionally on Sundays, but her Comings & Goings Facebook page has frequent updates. If you know about a business coming or going in the area, contact Wendy at wendyedit@gmail.com.

Additionally, we want to say a big thank you to Maria’s Cantina restaurant and Crissi Kessler for hosting the musicians for lunch after their performance. We are so grateful for Maria’s Cantina’s generosity in serving lunch to the band members whose music was enjoyed by many people at and around Heritage Plaza.

Danielle Thomas
Executive director, YoloArts, Woodland

Back in the late 70s, he developed and built housing for the low-income and elderly in Woodland and Davis, both still well-maintained and pleasant living facilities.

Even though a successful developer and businessman (apartments, office buildings, Sudwerk), in the early mornings I often saw Ron sweeping the parking lot at the Davisville Professional Center. I’ll always remember him in his high-mileage white pickup wearing his usual khaki pants and shirt. Pretense and being stylish were not characteristics of Ron. What drove him was being honest, doing a thorough job and helping his family.

An ex-Marine, Ron persevered through whatever bad times came his way with courage and determination. Not many people know of his selfless dedication to helping locate and identify the remains of missing GIs of the Korean War. During his later years, Ron spent countless hours, using his own funds, to travel to Washington and Pearl Harbor in that pursuit. When he spoke of a rare success, gained only after many hours of research, to finally be able to make a connection of remains of a deceased GI with a family, his voice would tremble with emotion and pride.

By living his life the way he did, Ron exemplified Ralph Waldo Emerson’s thought that it is one of the most beautiful compensations in life that one cannot sincerely try to help another without helping him or herself. Over the years, whether asked or not, Ron would always be there to help; he asked nothing in return. I know, though, that he gained much joy for these acts of kindness. I could see it by the sparkle in his eyes.

I will miss him — not only as the wonderful person he was but also as a true inspiration to me as to how to live my life.

Richard Alcauskas

Davis