Deserts like the Atacama in northern Chile are inhospitable. Stretching 1,000 kilometers from north to south along the Pacific coast, it usually receives only 15 milliliters (ml) of rain per year.

The 105,000 square kilometers of dry land, however, was spectacularly carpeted with wildflowers after a heavy rain in August. Some 12 ml or the equivalent of almost one year’s volume of rain drenched the entire desert for a day, causing dormant seeds of more than 200 different species of wildflowers to spring to life, BBC reports.

This display will last until November, according to Chile’s National Forest Corporation.

Meanwhile, the New Forest National Park in southern England has a large population of oak trees that shed acorns during autumn.

Each mature oak tree in the 566-square-kilometer park can produce from 10,000 to 50,000 acorns per autumn, so over 3,000 tons of acorns are scattered naturally on the forest floor after they fall from the hundreds of thousands of trees.

Wildlife, including wild ponies and livestock, feed on the acorns. But overeating can poison the cattle and ponies with their tannins, so park authorities allow pig raisers to continue their tradition called pannage.

Under the practice, up to 600 pigs are released in the forest per year to graze on the acorns and leave just enough for the ponies, cattle and other wild animals to feed on safely.

People called verderers oversee the park’s use, including the pannage. They expect pannage season to end on 28 November, but it could be extended if the size of the acorn crop warrants it.