Beaver in Cabin John Creek

Swimming beaver, Cabin John Creek

Last week I saw unmistakable evidence of a beaver in Cabin John Creek.  I decided to try and take a picture of the actual beaver.  It took me a couple of days to do it since beavers are nocturnal and go to bed right around sunrise, but as you can see, I managed. 

When this beaver noticed me it swam upstream for a bit then, with a splash went under water and didn't come back up.  I believe it swam to it's lodge and decided it was bed time.

Beaver stripped branch

Beavers eat the bark off tree branches, so there were branches without bark floating in the water. This is one of the telltale signs of active beavers. 

Beaver Branch closeup

Here's a closer shot of a branch that a beaver has eaten the bark off of. You can see the gnaw marks on it. 

Beaver eaten tree

A beaver stripped some of the bark off this sapling but left it standing.  You can see a few gnaw marks on it.

 

 

 

 

Electric car charging at Cabin John Park

There are now chargers for electric cars at Cabin John Park near Cabin John Ice Rink and Shirley Povich Field.

The chargers are run by Pepco and branded "EVsmart Life, Fully Charged". They don't have the power level on them, and Pepco's website doesn't list it either. I think they are 50 kw DC fast chargers. That may seem like it isn't very powerful, but, I think they are geared for people who are going to be around for a while enjoying the park facilities.  Not only is the ice rink and baseball field (where Bethesda Big Train plays) just across the parking lot, there are also tennis courts and the Cabin John Trail right there.
 

There are two charging pedestals, each one has a CCS plug and a CHAdeMo plug.  You need to use the SWTCH mobile app or RFID card, or call a phone number to start the charger. 

For those of you who want to charge more slowly, or who can't charge with CCS or CHAdeMO, there are also two Level 2 J-1772 chargers available.  The Pepco website lists the cost of the Level 2 chargers at $0.18 per kWh which is a reasonable price. It doesn't give the power of the chargers, but based on the information they do provide, they appear to be 7.25kW chargers. 

There are four parking spots reserved for charging, 2 for the DC fast chargers and 2 for the Level 2 chargers.  The DC fast chargers cost $0.34 per kWh which is cheaper than most fast chargers (but they are also slower than most fast chargers).  Based on information on their website, these fast chargers have a power level of 45kW, but the nameplate capacity is probably 50 kW.