The summer has been a blur – mostly of work and family stuff, with a few short hikes here and there when we can fit them in.  Up until quite recently the weather was miserable – 100 degrees in the shade, or torrential rain; neither is ideal for hiking or picture taking.  However, in the small spots of good weather we continue to find much joy in both the Acton Arboretum and our Mass Audubon membership.  The Arboretum is free (membership is $15), and we have more than made up for the half-price Audubon membership I bought in June.  The bugs have been bad, but at least they’ve been interesting!  I’d never seen one of these hummingbird moths before, but they were all over the place at the Arboretum a couple of weeks ago:

The butterflies and moths are plentiful too:

This past weekend, we used the Audubon membership to visit the Ipswich River Sanctuary in Topsfield, where the dragonflies were out in full force.  This is not the greatest picture, but the face on this guy reminds me of Jiminy Cricket in the worst way: