A new critter on the farm??

Being in the country you never know what may cross your path. We've heard the coyote pack close to the house, we've spotted the deer that I mistook for a brown floppy dog, and I'm sure we have raccoons around and even foxes and rabbits ( not that I've actually seen them....yet), even thought I heard a bobcat the other afternoon. Now rumor has it, ever since we moved to albany a few years ago and every local will tell you, that on the other side of the tracks where we currently live they have cougars and bear. Well there may be something to those local rumors. 

Yesterday, while I was putting groceries away, sky was out back in the garden  playing with Big Ben. Before long sky came running into the house and the first words out of her mouth were "mom, there's a puma in the woods!"  I couldn't help but laugh "a puma?" I asked and in her excited exasperation she replied " cougar, panther, whatever" again I couldn't help but laugh at my teenage daughter. So thinking she was maybe seeing things incorrectly, because I myself have mistaken Big Ben as a small dog on several occasions,  I asked her if it could have been a bobcat. This is usually where she makes a short answer into a long story.  So she proceeds to tell me that she noticed Big Ben get very still and started looking at something intently. So sky was curious to see what he was looking at and followed his gaze to the back tree line which is approximately 250 feet away from where she was standing. She said she saw a large cat, bigger than our dog jack with jacks tan coloring. So again I asked bobcat or maybe one of the coyotes. Again she replied no, saying that not only was the large cat definatly a cat, because it looked right at her, but that the marking were not right for a bobcat, the tail was way too long and slender, and the head although cat like was bigger than that of a bobcat. 

For the record, Skylar and I have both been very up close and personal with a couple resident bobcats in the area, so I have no doubt that she could distinguish between the two. So, being that I did not see this animal myself, I have to take her word for it. I do know for a fact that we have a large cat of some sort on the farm. I found its tracks all over one of the plant tarps I used during the last freeze we had. Well, to be on the side of caution, I put a call into Jason's ( Sean's nephew) wife Lindsey,not to worry her but to let her know that there is that possibility of a cougar on our place. I also informed her that I would let her know if we spot any black bears or Bigfoot lurking out in woods on our farm.