Trashcan appearing on desktop - but nothing else is

For some reason everything on my desktop has disappeared, except for the trashcan - and even that isn't there when I glance at the desktop using Expose.
Here's what I've tried to do to solve the problem:
-Restart Finder;
-Fix permissions using Disk Utility.
-Restart the computer.
If I navigate to the desktop using Finder, then everything is there: it just doesn't appear on the actual desktop.
Any suggestions?

You are welcome, Jim - glad to help.
Preference files (plist) will occasionally (rare, but it happens) become corrupted. OS X rebuilds them as needed with default values.
Incidentally, welcome from the "dark side." Once you are here, you will never go back. I used both platforms for many years. When I spend my own money, it was always Apple. I am in double figures on Mac purchases.
Barry

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