I caught the brief change in background illumination in my peripheral vision. Perrine didn't. So I was expecting the thunder. After I felt her startle from her position against my shin, she looks confused. Must've been a whopper of a bolt, to be that bright and that loud from so far away. The thunderclap kept me waiting a while.
I'm even farther behind on email, comments, and my friendspage than usual right now. I've got three projects in progress that I'm trying to keep my attention on (and just hit a "now I get to wait for somebody else" step in a fourth), so I don't know when I'll catch up.