You guys are too much!  I'm just another guy who decided to try growing his beard, found this board while searching for help with grooming, and contracted the contagious grow, grow, grow bug while here. smiley: happy 

I have to admit, Clint, that I did shout a rather loud 'Yes!' when I read Aarne's comment welcoming me to the 'club'.  I have a long way to go, pardon the pun, before I catch up with him, though, if it's even genetically possible for me.

Thank you, Tienchyu!

When the wind hits my untied beard, ahh and Joris, it just splits down the middle and blows around my face and I can, usually, just go inside and comb it back into place.  What you see in that picture is the effect of a nights worth of a particularly intense altercation with a pillow and when that happens there's salvation other than a jump in the shower!  

LOL, Marsh, and thank you!  As for feeling it on my bare chest, and on my shoulders for that matter, that's one of the great joys I've discovered in wearing a big beard.  It feels wonderful to have it brush back and forth and feels warm and comforting in a way as well.  Since it now goes well beyond my sternum it completely covers my chest when I lie on my back.  To my great surprise, it feels so natural that it seems it always should have been that way, if that makes any sense.  I think that if more men grew their beards out and experienced it there would be more big beards out there.  On the downside, though, getting it caught in my armpit, something that happens quite often, isn't as pleasant smiley: frown I haven't been swimming with my beard in almost two years but I'm looking forward to doing it soon.  I think the sensation of it getting tugged by the water would be neat.  I don't think I'd do anything with it other than just let it go with the flow.

Hey, Michael, great to hear from you again, my friend.  Thank you!  If Aarne was ever on this board it was before my time.  Alas, you've also brought up one of the disappointments, albeit a rather silly one, that I have in my beard.  My mustache is now at terminal length and falls short of my goal of being able to pin it behind my head by about an inch.  I can, and while I'm combing my beard often do, wrap it completely around my ears to keep it out of the way smiley: tongue

Thank you, Marty!  It's funny that you say that about the color.  My wife actually noted just the other day that it isn't white at all, rather it's a very pale golden color.  I think it just looks white against that grey sweater.  

Wow, MM, thank you for that!  I remember feeling that way when kplandes first commented on my beard too.

Thank you, Trick!  Great to have you back!  It's been far to quiet around here lately  And on the morning beard, just keep growing, your time is coming smiley: laugh

But you can wear yours as long as mine, Dirk, all you have to do is stay away from that great barber of yours for a few years.  Just think of the money you'll save  Thank you, buddy!

Guru, Ed?  Nah, I'm still just an apprentice compared to those guys, but thank you!

Yeah, Rino, my beard often leaves my wife at a loss for words too smiley: laugh  If I don't shower in the morning putting my beard in ties or a single big braid takes less than a minute.  If I shower, then putting in oil and combing takes about 3-5 minutes because I have to be very careful not to break hairs.  Either way, it's less time than I ever spent shaving!

JNC, Rene, Andy, and Beardman88, than you, gents!  I'm looking forward to seeing your beards at my length in a few years

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My wife and I got hooked on the TV series 'Outlander' last year and I really liked the knit tams the Scots wear in that show, so my wife figured out a pattern and knit one for me!  I love it!  I think it suits the beard nicely.  Oh, and the reason I'm not smiling in the first pic is that holding a phone with two hands while trying to take a selfie requires all my mental capacity, so I didn't think to smile smiley: eyes

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And here's a shot she took at dinner the other night of me enjoying a pre-dinner martini (Hendrick's, of course, since I'm wearing a Scottish tam).

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Cheers!
Tom


Some helpful links:
Library Central of Beard Growing


Taming the Wild Mustache
Tips for eating and drinking with a big mustache

Excess on occasion is exhilarating. It prevents moderation from acquiring the deadening effect of a habit. ~ W. Somerset Maugham
A jerk with a beard is just a bearded jerk, but a bearded gentleman is awesomeness personified. ~ Triibeard