heat haze

the view is shades of grey and green and bright light today

a strange ethereal mix of sunlight reflecting in the silver ribbon of the dwindling river as the tide recedes and glittering and sparkling on the windows and rooves of the buildings, the cityscape layer after layer of misty greys - punctuated only by the various greens of the trees
.

the seagulls, bobbles of white in the mirror-like surface of The Thames, swim against the downstream movement of the water, black cormorants dip in and out of the surface, the stalking heron picks in and out of the tide pools appearing on the shingle
.

the background noise of the traffic on the bridge - the occasional siren of a police car piercing thru the audible gloom - a tube train rattles across the railway bridge - a child cries out from way down below on the piazza
.

four swans this morning and one cygnet
.

there is no breeze and the surface of the water is flat as it flows away beneath me