Thanks all for the great replies and the friendly welcome.  I had been bouncing back and forth between shortening the beard a bit to get it more back in line with where the stash is, or going through an awkward phase while the stash grows out to balance things a bit.  I must admit I'm a bit nervous about giving myself my first trim.  In the past I always used a trimmer with a guide, so there was no real risk of error.

I'm wondering what I can do about that "all over the place" look.  The photos I took were right after combing while drying and oiling, and the beard tends to become even less coheisive over time.  I have trouble with the cheeks becoming more and more curly, and the hair at the bottom of my chin (as you can see is starting to happen) flares out to the left and right.  Is this just a case of being new to trying to train my hair in a certain direction, or do I need to be doing more (or adding another product) to get the hair to smarten up? 

And gato, just south of Huntsville myself.