Pulling invasive species out by the roots is a good way to control them, but other than a vague sense of satisfaction at the view of bare dirt, there are few rewards. Eating them is a better solution. We did our part last weekend, picking wineberries, a Japanese relative of the raspberry, that have established themselves in a wooded preserve near our house.

The day was hot and still, the ground cracked, and the bucolic vision I had imagined was marred by the sound of heavy equipment brought in to ease the lake-dredging effort under way. But we did find abundant berries - water starved, thus tiny and overly seedy, but highly flavored. The tradition, with our berry-finding guru, a botanist (and musician) who manages the acreage, is to make tarts with the crop, and so we did: Butter crust, egg-rich vanilla custard, berries.