A visitor in the pantry

So tonight I had the rare chance to watch the  Antiques Roadshow because Randy, who thinks it's terribly boring, was still working on a paper. Suddenly there was some barking in the kitchen and a strange ongoing sound.  Tascha the cat and three dogs were sticking there noses through the door of the pantry where they are usually not allowed. And still that strange sound. A rattle? A hiss? A snake for sure, and most likely a gopher. Randy got the dogs out of there, I got shoes (just in case), my camera, and my snake hook. But the pantry is not big and full of shelving - it was suddenly very difficult to determine where exactly the sound was coming from.

Then a head appeared, peering around an old unused ceramic jar. It looked just like an ornament on a Chinese vase except that it tried to hide again when it spotted us. It disappeared around a jar of pistachios, slithered  behind some kilos of Randy's humming bird sugar (note to self - couldn't that attract ants?) 

When I finally got a hold of it, it turned out to be an about 4 feet long Gopher or Bull Snake. How did it get inside? Anyway, he's back outside to hunt pack rats now. We are glad to have him.