Here in Herndon at the border of Loudoun, it started snow, turned to a sleety freezing rain, then back to snow. Got about 2" accumulation (luckily was melting as it hit on a lot of surfaces) and the worst on the road was slush - unitl it freezes to ice tonight (hearing the sirens in the distance when I take the dogs out, so Im guessing it's ice now.) So sorry, all north of me, for the damage to your gardens and power outages. That's the pits, especially this early in the year! I hope Ma Nature hasn't bought into the retailers' focus on pushing the seasons! I got lucky - got my remaining orchids in before they became a sludgy green mess (the cyms better bloom this year, they've certainly had a good chilling period!) - but my fall rose blooms are history, several bushes deformed, etc. Here I thought I had several weeks to put the garden to rest, and then this! My DD in WI thinks it's creepy that we got snow before she did - I agree. I hope all are safe, warm and damage-free throughout this unseasonable storm and it's aftermath!

Jellyben, returning to your original question, I'd like to offer my two-cents. It's true that Lorton has no cachet among the residents in NOVA. Unless, you are close-in, any commute into the District is nasty. My BIL lives in West Springfield. He carpools to the Library of Congress up 395 and his commute is better than most...30 minutes door-to-door if it's not raining. It's a great area with nice family neighborhoods. My concerns are a bit different. You are very interested in new construction. I'd caution you to approach new construction throughout Northern Virginia with a gimlet eye. New developments and homes were constructed lightning fast during the boom here. Lorton is an example. I have real reservations about the quality of the production building circa 2003-2005. We are renting a house in Oak Hill (bleeding edge Reston and Herndon) that was built in 2004. Technically, the houses are detached but are really squashed together on teeny strips of land. In 2002, huge swaths of this area were still farmland. By 2005, townhouse farms and SFH Vinyl Villages had taken over, like weeds. The owners bought the place for $576,000 and the value zoomed to $740,000 in 18 months. You'd think that a half million bucks would land you good solid construction with nice finishes. Nope. This house was built on the cheap. It has all the requisite bells and whistles so it looks nice superficially. But...that lovely granite island is plywood covered with very thin laminate veneers. The shiny hardwood floors scratch and dent with alarming ease. The vinyl siding is beginning to separate from the house. Nails pops are everywhere. When we sit in the family room, our hair blows from the drafts coming in through the back door and windows. We joke that the truck drove past this house on insulation day. Heating/Cooling runs us about $350-$400/month. Crikey, even the toilets require 3 flushes. I could go on and on...I'm just blown away by the low level of quality combined with a high price. For a two-year old home, this house is showing unbelievable wear and tear. The construction 7-10 years ago is far superior. We moved back here last summer (after a one year job transfer to Ohio) and decided to rent for many reasons. One of them was to take a good hard look at what you can get for 500-700K in newer SFH's. I'm not impressed. The townhomes at those price levels may be of higher quality...I don't really know. I'm not suggesting that you write off new construction. I'm just saying you may want to approach it with a very careful and skeptical eye. Upon close examination, the look and feel can be very deceptive. In the long run, that brand new construction might cost you more than tweaking a somewhat older home in an older neighborhood that has a nice lot for your kids. I've read your prior posts and think that the Burke/Springfield area might suit your commute and lifestyle desires. By the way, homes identical to our rental were selling at $740,000 in 2005. They are now sitting for months at $700K. Most recent sale was $650K. A trend? Beats me but we'll see what the spring brings. I am one of those fully loaded buyers sitting on the sidelines...not because I'm looking for a bargain or a give away. I'm looking for the right combination of price and value. Between 2004-2005, those wacky price jumps of $200-$300K in all types of housing were completely disconnected from value IMHO. And that includes the house I sold in Falls Church in the summer of 2005. If I'm going to spend over a million bucks on a house, it better be pretty close to perfect. So far, no cigar.

Goldgirl, Your relative might learn a great deal by using the sites listed below. The first two list what's for sale in NoVa's MLS. Each has a different search focus but the two combined provide a powerful look into the location and quality of homes for sale in the NoVa area. The third site provides current statistical data on the NoVa housing market. You can search out DOMS, inventory by price category and home type, number of properties sold in these categories etc. You can also search specific zip codes as well as broader geographic areas. It's fun and informative. http://www.vamlsrealty.com/SearchSelectCounty.aspx?NS=Y http://www.homesdatabase.com/northrop/cgi-bin/aa.fcgi http://www.mris.com/reports/stats/monthly_reti.cfm As a lifelong Northern Virginian, I've witnessed huge changes to this area over time. The most profound of these changes is the population growth and its impact on traffic, neighborhood composition, and the commercial infrastructure. Here in NoVa, change is the only constant. I highly recommend that your relative rent for a period of time to get to know the area. There are hundreds of neighborhhoods w/in a five mile radius of Gallows/50. Each has a different appeal or may be in some form of transition. Example: Today's Merrifield area (down the road from Gallows/50) will look far different in three years. The construction is massive. Up the road, Falls Church City is rapidly changing its housing composition and the traffic patterns are changing too...not for the better IMHO. There's a great deal of rental inventory in NoVa. All housing types are available for rent...Higher end SFH's to townhouse to small apartments etc. Our rental market provides broad choices for every taste and pocketbook. NoVa is diverse and complex and it's worth getting to know before making a real estate comittment. As for the state of the housing market, throw a stone and you'll get an opinion. My somewhat well-educated opinion is that home sales will stay slow for quite some time and it won't be easy to unload a real estate mistake. Yes, I DO believe prices will drop further. I think the entire metro DC area will see some pain. Where? How much? Beats me. But anyone who believes that prices in Arlington, Alexandria, and even, McLean, can't fall does not remember the early 90's very well. The ice cream cone does melt from the outside in. Another example of recent price decline...my lovely little neighborhood of high-end townhomes in the City of Falls Church saw price drops of 12-15% from 2005-2006. But sellers in both years still made a nice chunk of change from when we bought in 1998. Happy Hunting and I hope your relative moves here and learns that NoVa has a lot to offer (besides terrible traffic) for those that choose wisely.

>> He reminded me about the migratory Junko birds that ate much of our bare April fescue seeding last year. You get those too? Around here, they're year-round residents (sometimes). The average Junko (as well as other sparrows) are incredibly lazy. If you scatter just a bit of peat moss atop the blank areas when you dormant seed, they won't be very effective at finding the seeds and tend to do the job of burying them for you. No protection is required when seeding into a partially sprouted stand of grass. You can certainly add KBG to the mix if you like, but keep in mind that it'll tend to take over the lawn over the very long term (many years). Personally, I liked the resulting Abbey/Kenblue bluegrass lawn more than I liked the tri-mix that spawned it. So much so that I renovated to nicer bluegrasses! Under normal circumstances, pre-emergents for incidental weeds go around the time the forsythia blossom (or, when soil temperatures rise over fifty degrees). That takes care of most oddball stuff. You won't be able to apply any pre-emergent at this time as your new grasses will still be sprouting and have to be three mowings old before you use any pre-M or herbicides. Crabgrass sprouts warmer, but may get started in any warm snap in April or May. For that, I'd apply pre-emergent (Dimension, Barricade, most of them work on CG) around June first and realize that it's not going to be perfect. Spot treat any sprouted CG with Weed B Gon Crabgrass Control in July or so when you see it--the lawn will be old enough by then and more.