iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Is the crow flying towards you or away from you? It's an illusion! J/k In real life the crow was flying away from me, because I only had a phone camera, and I guess I got a little too close. I'm sorry, crow. #inktober #inktober2026 #crow

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Ben Bittner @surlyben.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Today's prompt, like every day's prompt is "crow" Ink on paper 4"x5.5" #inktober #inktober2026 #inkcrowber

Ink drawing of a crow walking to the left along a rooftop, silhouetted against a lightly overcast sky.

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Ben Bittner @surlyben.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Here's a raggedy crow I once saw at Bryce Canyon. Or maybe a raven, I'm bad at telling them apart. Black and white ink on paper 4"x5.5" #inktober #inkcrowber #crow or maybe #raven

A drawing of a fluffy black crow on some rocks

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Ben Bittner @surlyben.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

June 2. After Cuba, New Mexico, the CDT climbed 3000+ feet (1000m) in only a few miles. Out of the desert and into a lush green forest, and it was glorious! There's one more desert stretch, but this is where I started to feel Colorado approaching #cdt #green #watercolor

Photo of a sketchbook page with a watercolor drawing of a green field with some purple lilies in the lower right hand corner

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Ben Bittner @surlyben.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Last week on my little PCT hike I saw a few crows, and I was inspired to do #inktober this year, but only with crows. #inkcrowber, instead. Nothin' but inky #crows. Here's the first one. It's a sketch, but I hope to do some finished pieces as well.

A photo of a sketchbook page with an ink drawing of a crow flying above some black and leafless trees. There is a brush and two ink bottles above the sketchbook

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Ben Bittner @surlyben.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

June 1, South of Cuba NM. One reason I don't like road walks is that there's always litter, and it can be kind of gross. There are prairie dog colonies right next to the highway, living among all the trash and litter and exhaust and speeding cars. 10x10cm #watercolor #prairieDog

A watercolor sketch of a prairie dog next to some crushed aluminum cans

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Ben Bittner @surlyben.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

May 31. One of the delights of a desert hike is that there are lizards absolutely everywhere. I believe this is an Eastern collared lizard. Spotted south of Cuba, NM. Watercolor on paper 10x10cm #lizard #watercolor #sketchbook #continentalDivideTrail

Photo of a sketchbook page with a watercolor painting of a green and yellow lizard on top of a reddish brown rock

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Ben Bittner @surlyben.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Another CDT hike watercolor sketch, somewhere between Grants and Cuba, NM, May 31. 4x5 watercolor in Stillman & Birn alpha sketchbook. #CDT #hikerArt #watercolor

Watercolor sketch of a dead tree in a yellow and orange and gray desert

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Ben Bittner @surlyben.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Last week I did a PCT section that covered some fire closures from my 2021 thru. Now I have a connected footpath! I made one painting of this little bird that wasn't afraid of me at all! I just need to make time-lapse videos and I'll be a hiking art influencer! #CanadaJay #BirdArt #pleinAir #pct

Watercolor sketch of a small gray and black bird

Photo of a small gray and black Canada Jay standing on the end of a cut log

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Ben Bittner @surlyben.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

I just have it a listen, and it does mention gettin' drunk, though nothing about mama, or trains, or trucks, or prison, so, I dunno, one out of five isn't bad? It also referenced a few other, better songs, which I think is a brave choice.

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Ben Bittner @surlyben.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

I have no idea if I've heard it. I mostly don't listen to pop music. The entire premise of pop is that I don't have to seek it out, it will still find me and make me bland. I *do* listen to a *lot* of country, though. On that basis I question whether "Choosin' Texas" is country. Top 40 country??

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Ben Bittner @surlyben.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

May 30th on the CDT between Grants and Cuba, NM. #watercolor #newMexico #treeArt

Photo of a sketchbook page with a watercolor painting of a bird taking off from a leafless tree in a desert.

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Ben Bittner @surlyben.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Burned terrain I hiked through on my CDT LASH this spring. #desert #deadtrees #wasteland

Watercolor sketch of dead, blackened trees in a dry landscape. A vulture looks on.

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Ben Bittner @surlyben.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Card for September. Linoblock print made out an old linocut crow I made, a new orange circle linocut, and some ancient Speedball ink I've had kicking around probably since college. Autumn is here. 4 by 6 inches #blockprint #crow #autumn

Two color block print of a black crow against an orange circle background.

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Ben Bittner @surlyben.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

A water source on the CDT. Would have been one of my favorites, except it was vile cow water. #waterSource #watercolor #thruhiking

A hiker stands at the top of a small cliff looking down at a green murky pond

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Ben Bittner @surlyben.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

The CDT north of Grants climbs up Mt Taylor, and is in a green forest for a day or so. #watercolor #sketch #hikerart

Watercolor sketch of a stand of trees rises into a blue sky in a forest.

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Ben Bittner @surlyben.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Two crosses north of Grants NM

Watercolor sketch of two crosses on a rock, under blue sky with suggestions in of white clouds.

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Ben Bittner @surlyben.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

May 25. Just a long rainy road walk south of Grants, NM. I think this was the day I got the plantar fasciitis in my left foot that stuck with me until I got off the trail. Boooooo. #sketchbook #watercolor #continentalDivideTrail

Watercolor sketch of a desert landscape with a road running through it. There are red and yellow cliffs, and a rock tower. The sky is overcast

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Ben Bittner @surlyben.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

From Pie Town to Grants the CDT is almost all exposed road walk. Sun and prairie dogs and passing cars taking pity on me and offering water and candy sometimes. I hate this sketchbook, and there's only one more drawing in it. Huzzah! #watercolor #hiking

Watercolor sketch book, with a painting of dirt road receeding in a yellow desert. A small figure stands in the middle of the road.

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Ben Bittner @surlyben.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

May 23, 2026, sketch of Zeus and Tristan resupplying in Pie Town, NM. The real hike is the friends you meet on the way. #watercolor #sketch #thruhiking

Loose watercolor sketch of two thruhikers, identifiable but their shorts, puffy jacket, and sun hoody, doing a resupply at a small table.

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Ben Bittner @surlyben.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

CDT trailhead on New Mexico 12. Watercolor, 5"x4" #cdt #watercolor #sketch

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Ben Bittner @surlyben.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

I left the Gila at Aeroplane Mesa. After it comes out of the canyon, the trail goes through some fairly pleasant terrain of grass and scattered trees. #cdt #watercolor #sketch

Watercolor sketch of a round tree in a dry grass field. Two birds fly in the distance.

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Ben Bittner @surlyben.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Another sketch from my CDT hike. This is from the north end of the Gila canyon, at a place where it widens out into a giant meadow.

Watercolor landscape sketch. A stand of trees with white bark in a yellow meadow. A light blue sky. A snag stands alone on the left.

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Ben Bittner @surlyben.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Gila River canyon in New Mexico

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Ben Bittner @surlyben.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

I think it's because the typical customer was a late adopter of this whole "Internet" malarkey, so their websites are ten or twenty years behind the times. Though, on preview, what what Guillaume said.

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Ben Bittner @surlyben.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Someone at a dinner party asked me what I thought of AI, and told me how useful they found it, and I told them I'd rather chew tinfoil than use it, god damn! Anyway, sometimes on the trail, I'd get up before sunrise, and it was my favorite time to hike #cdt

Watercolor sketch of a black tree silhouetted on a ridge, against a light gray sky. Mostly Paynes gray, with some yellow and orange and a bit of blue at the edges.

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Ben Bittner @surlyben.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

Water source on the CDT, about 40 miles in, I think. #cdt

Watercolor sketch of a large tub for watering cows, full of green water, in the desert.

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Ben Bittner @surlyben.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

John Carpenter made two sequels is what I am saying.

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Ben Bittner @surlyben.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

I think MacReady killed the Thing, and he and Childs were rescued the next morning. The incident was covered up with false identities all around. MacReady became an alcoholic truck driver, and Childs moved to Los Angeles and really really really didn't want to hear about aliens anymore. #thething

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Ben Bittner @surlyben.bsky.social · 08/05/2026

First 85 miles of the CDT done

A Continental Divide sign stands in the left foreground of a photo of a desert full of prickly green bushes. In the distance, the turn off Lordsburg can be seen, and beyond that: mountains. A wispy, barely visible dust devil rises into the sky between the mountains and the town.

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Ben Bittner @surlyben.bsky.social · 23/04/2026

Old movies from the 60s would sometimes have a scene where they install a giant computer in an office, and everyone kinda hates it, but they have to use it anyway.

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Ben Bittner @surlyben.bsky.social · 17/04/2026

I knew the heater fan worked because I had it out for a bench test, but I could never figure out why it wouldn't go. It turns out that the dashboard switch had its switchy insides completely removed! It looked like a switch, felt like a switch, but did nothing at all.

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Ben Bittner @surlyben.bsky.social · 17/04/2026

Most worked if I turned thrice widdershins and banged on them with a tiny silver wrench, but the horn, heater, and wiper fluid have never worked as long as I've owned this car, despite my attempts to fix them. What finally got me to fix it all was a scary general lighting failure last fall.

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Ben Bittner @surlyben.bsky.social · 17/04/2026

Horn, map light, trunk light, windshield wipers, heater, heater fan, drivers side running lights, headlights, hazard lights, blinkers, cigarette lighter, reverse lights, clock, radio, windshield wiper fluid pump: Things that were iffy or broken on my car until last month, when I rewired it. #mgb

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