I pledge to neither shave, trim, chew nor otherwise truncate my beard in any respect for the duration of one (1) full leap year; that is, three hundred and sixty-six (366) days. Herein shall be documented evidence to that effect, such that one (1) photo of my face and beard shall be faithfully uploaded every Saturday from today (Saturday, July 9, 2011) until Saturday, July 7, 2012, with one last photo submitted the following day, Sunday, July 8, 2012. I welcome any and all moral, fiscal or fraternal support, including, but not limited to, high fives, buying me beers, occasional posted comments of “Way to go, bro!” and emulation of myself and my beard-growing pledge.

It is hoped that this endeavor will inspire men near and far to grow their own beards, though they, of course, may truncate to their hearts’ content so long as they maintain that essential quality – visible, distinguishable hair on the face – that separates men from boys. So say we all.

For you interested in following along, you can view the Picasa album here. Meanwhile, here is our baseline: