The Ballerinas And The Bee

Today's image was taken in our back garden. We have a large fuchsia shrub (the flowers are said to be reminiscent of dancers' or ballerinas' skirts) not far from our back door which has been suffering badly for the last couple of years with a disease which has caused the flowers to shrivel. I was bracing myself for having to cut it back to the wooded part of the plant or dispose of it all together but to my surprise this summer, after being surrounded by some expanding winter jasmine, it has thrived again and produced its best display of flowers for years which is still going strong in mid October.
This shot was taken just after a heavy rain shower and this bee seemed to be determined to get into the frame too!