'Big Flea'

This morning we set off to Chantilly, about six miles from here, to the Dulles Expo Center.  This weekend was the 'Dulles Big Flea' - an antique and collectors market held in a large warehouse-style building in a shopping centre there.

There were some 200 or so dealers selling a wide range of American and some European items for prices from a few dollars to a few thousand dollars.  Everything from antique porcelain, silver and glass to 1950's aprons, placemats and Pyrex sets and from neon signs to Art Deco furniture, plastic beads to hefty gold and diamond pieces from Tiffany and Gucci was on sale.  We were surprised at how many dealers appeared to be from the UK and found that prices on the whole seemed quite high compared to similar items on sale eg in the big sheds at antique and collectors fairs in Shepton Mallett.  It was an experience and one that I enjoyed, even though I came away empty handed this time!

We came home under grey skies and in the rain - the beginnings, apparently, of Winter Storm Titan which is now predicted to develop overnight to give us one tenth of an inch of ice followed by 5-10 inches of snow.  Tomorrow's overnight temperature is expected to be a rather chilly -17C.  David 's office is closed until at least midday tomorrow as a result of the forecast.

It is often the case that there is increased bird activity before a storm and this morning a group of chattering starlings were making short work of the suet blocks.  That is until we heard a loud bird call and they scattered, heralding the arrival of a Pileated Woodpecker who attached himself precariously but with determination to the suet feeder..

As can be seen in this photo he has an impressively powerful beak..

We are grateful that he is only visiting the bird feeders and not tapping away under the eaves of the house where woodpeckers of his size can and do cause a great deal of damage to buildings here.