Once New Year’s Day passes, it's as if a gust of wind blows in and clears away all the tinsel overnight. Indoors becomes austere as well, shed of the holiday silver and gold. The outdoor world reveals what it’s been for a month, although we were too merry to notice: grey, brown, unadorned. That’s when my photography goes to the birds. The dead deck outside my window with its joyless flowerpots full of brown leaves becomes center stage with performances enacted daily. The junc