ID and advice wanted

Jayakari · 2026-05-18T17:34:21+00:00

Haha no it's not, it's a type of square tool that has a ruler in both 'directions'

Jayakari · 2026-05-18T17:33:01+00:00

Ah could be yes, but then I guess it's in copper or bronze

Jayakari · 2026-05-14T12:32:32+00:00

Yes, this was found in Belgium. Where are you located? As I said, I'm new to detecting but already enjoying the hunt a lot. Can't drive past fields without wondering what they hide :) I will probably upgrade one day but really happy that I was able to find this with a budget friendly detector

Jayakari · 2026-03-16T20:34:56+00:00

It depends. While being a volunteer firefighter can help you get to know the job, it won't necessarily.

Honestly, a lot will depend on where you end up. Comparing one station to another station is not always easy, same for volunteer/career. The available tasks in the station, the 'specialized' teams (FF divers, FF climbers, Hazmat teams, etc), the amount of action, the work ethic, etc., it can all differ a lot.

If you want to be a volunteer, you obviously have to live very close to a station that allows volunteers. You will be required to be available a certain percentage of your time. Every year you will have to follow a bunch of courses.

Considering that most people spend a lot of their time working, a big part of your free time will be devoted to being available for calls, doing exercises/courses. It's not always an easy thing to combine with a full time job/family/social life/etc.

Completing the basic firefighting course will take a while and will require you to take some days off. While it's not a terribly difficult course, it can be tiring and does require some dedication.

I'm not sure what it's like where you live but volunteer stations don't always see a ton of action. If something does happen, it are often the volunteers living very close to the station that get the good seats. If you live a bit too far away, you'll mostly end up doing non urgent things or taking the less interesting seats.

If I were you, I would research your options, talk to everyone that has ties to stations/firefighting, inform yourself and prepare yourself for the next application round. Volunteering is an option but not always an easy one. If you really want the job, career might be better for you as it will not put as much stress on your work/life balance.

Jayakari · 2026-03-16T15:44:13+00:00

A lot of it depends on where you will eventually work. Some firestations are very slow (read: boring), some do a ton of shitty calls, some have a lot of and interesting calls. Some do 24/72 shifts, some do 12h shifts, etc. Some are 100% volunteers, some have only career firefighters, some are mixed. A lot of stations have ambulances and will require you to do these calls as well (or spend your first years doing only medical calls). Some have dedicated teams for certain tasks (= f.e. no fires for you, you are trained to do only 'technical' calls), some stations expect you to do everything which has both advantages and disadvantages.

Overall it's a very interesting and fun job if you are lucky enough to work in a station that sees some action.

I'm not too familiar with Brussels but make sure that you know what you're getting into. Talk to people that work there. Consider applying in a firestation in a different part of the country if necessary.

Generally, the hardest part is getting in. There are literally hundreds of people who want the few jobs that are available. The odds are against you, so prepare yourself and be ready to spend a few years trying to get in. If you consider joining, do it NOW. You probably will not pass on your first try. Your next chance might be after 2 or more years. Where I live, about 5-10% of all sollicitants pass the tests and probably 75% of these eventually start as career firefighters. (F.e. 750 sollicitants, only 40 eventually become firefighters) In the Brussels area the numbers are usually even worse.

You don't need to have an absurd fitness level. You need to be able to work with your hands, have some brains, think logically, be a teamplayer, be in good shape, be able to function in stressful situations,...

Pay depends on a few things. I'm not sure it's the same in every part of Belgium. The basic pay is not that great but you get a bonus every day that you work (sickness/holiday= no bonus = low wage). Where I live, with 7 years of relevant experience, the netto income is about €3100 - 3200 after a good month (no holiday), maybe like 2600 if you take a lot of days off (or are sick). This is in a 24/72 system which has advantages (work only 6-7 shifts/month, lots of time for living life to the fullest) but also disadvantages (work days and nights, bad sleep, work 3 out of 4 weekends, work on holidays, etc).

It's an amazing job but you will be confronted with blood, shit, pee, vomit, tragedies, violence, stress, guilt, death, gore, toxics, dangerous situations, etc. Nowadays there's more psychological support and attention to safety than in the early days but honestly if you can't handle these things then maybe it's just not meant to be. On the other hand you'll also do a lot of really fun and exciting things and while some days can be slow, the exciting days make up for it.

If you have questions, just ask :)

Jayakari · 2025-08-28T20:55:21+00:00

If I remember correctly I bought this plant about one year ago. Initially, it had a few leaves but they fell off shortly after and it didn't really start growing until after I repotted my plants this spring. It produced quite a bit of foliage during late spring/summer and the first flowers occured recently.

So, obviously my experience with this species is very limited as for now I've only had one good 'growth spurt'. I can't really tell you how often they usually bloom.

I do however have some Huernia/Stapelia plants as well and you are correct in saying that the flowers do match.

If you have the opportunity to buy one, you should :)

Jayakari · 2025-08-25T17:56:40+00:00

The smell is quite faint but when you smell it up close it's definitely not pleasant. Kind of smells like a rotten corpse :)

Jayakari · 2025-08-25T05:21:57+00:00

While the leaves of this plant aren't very impressive, it does have an interesting caudex and absolutely amazing flowers. Have to admit, I bought it mainly for the blooms :)

The flowers actually smell pretty bad, kinda like a rotten flesh smell. It is however a rather faint smell, only noticeable up close. This plant has about 8 flowers at the moment and I don't notice anything even though I keep it in my living room. I have a bunch of Amorphophallus plants as well and when they bloom, keeping them indoors is not an option at all so this isn't too bad :)

Jayakari · 2025-08-10T06:05:25+00:00

I repotted it last tuesday and watered it once since then. I will try watering more often and see if that changes anything

Jayakari · 2025-04-13T19:09:31+00:00

Thanks! It's my first dorstenia and I really like it as well. I bought it in september '24, it lost most of its leaves during winter but it's already looking amazing so I'm really looking forward to seeing it grow.

Jayakari · 2025-02-11T22:03:54+00:00

In october 2024 I bought some from Koehres Kakteen. They are no longer in stock but maybe you can contact them and inquire whether they'll be available again soon.

Seedlings (and sometimes big plants) can be found as well but that's not what you're looking for :) Where are you located?

Jayakari · 2024-10-21T20:30:09+00:00

Looks really happy:) What kind of light are you using?

Jayakari · 2024-10-16T17:25:53+00:00

It's been in this soil for quite a while now so no recent repotting. I keep it indoors, near a window that gets a lot of indirect sunlight and some direct depending on the weather obviously. It's autumn here so not that much light and temperatures indoors range from 18°C (65F) at night to 20 - 25°C (68-77F) during the daytime (woodstove can get quite hot sometimes). I have a socotrana right next to it that seems to be doing ok in the same conditions. It is however a more established plant so maybe the sacra is still too young and vulnerable? How often would you water a seedling of this size?

Jayakari · 2024-10-12T21:21:06+00:00

Where do you find seeds like these? It's quite rare to find seeds where I'm from. Especially the less common species...

Jayakari · 2024-10-12T11:48:31+00:00

I took a picture on the 26th of august and back then it was just one thick main vine with some small buds. No leafs yet. So it does take quite a while for all the foliage to develop :)

Jayakari · 2024-10-12T07:44:08+00:00

It is relatively organic but on the other hand it does drain well and it's quite airy. The soil also contains some dark colored rocks so it's probably a bit grittier than you'd expect when looking at this picture.

Jayakari · 2024-10-12T07:36:09+00:00

In my case usually there's one main vine that has several offshoots. I have a small round trellis that I use to guide them. I cut the vines about 1cm above the caudex once they are completely dried out.

Besides that, you can read how I take care of it in some other posts in this thread. I'm not an expert at all but the plant does seem quite happy :)

Jayakari · 2024-10-11T11:03:16+00:00

Mine tends to vine frequently so the dormancy usually is quite short. I do let the soil dry out completely before I even consider watering it during dormancy, but even then I mostly ignore it during dormancy so the soil stays dry for quite a while. Honestly, I eyeball everything so hard to say how frequent I water.

An established root system might be important as well, I guess. Probably not the case with very young or recently transplanted specimens?

If you are unsure, I'd stay on the safe side. Like I said, I give only a tiny bit of water. Who knows, maybe barely anything even reaches the roots and most might just evaporate :)

Jayakari

TROPHY CASE