It was black, and about 12 inches of it emerged before I was on my feet. There was a Cane Knife in the back of my truck that would fit the bill perfect for snake removal. I heard it thump on the linoleum as I made tracks.
I got back perhaps 30 to 45 seconds later, but no snake was to be seen. An hour later, and with considerable furniture moving, still no snake. I was quite shaken and juiced up on adrenaline, not liking snakes in general, and certainly not in the house in particular.
I eventually got to sleep around 7am (behind a well-fortified and sealed door) and had to wake up around 9ish to go into town and do laundry. I will probably never feel less than nervous for a couple of weeks over this incident. I told my grandfather about it, and he didn't seem to concerned. So I guess I shouldn't either, but EEEWWW!!! I HATE SNAKES! Worse that Indiana Jones in Raiders Of The Lost Ark.
I found a shed snake skin matching the apprx. sixe of the intruder hanging from the chimney about 10 feet off the ground. Only thing I can figure is the rascal was tracking the small of mice and fell into the chimney.
I researched solutions to my problem and found a nifty web site called thriftyfun.com. It helped me feel some-what better and gave potential solutions and future preventions. Also clued me in to the likely id of my new boarder: a Black Rat Snake.
If I see him/her/it in my bedroom, I'm camping out in the truck!
Hope your weekend got off to a better start than mine.
Peace Out!