It's snowing again. And I'm ready for it this time. I really am.

I see that we have had quite a jump in donations recently. This is good. I would like to add my thanks to everyone for donating again this year and to all those beards too. As in the past years, I have again enjoyed growing my beard with you all.

I will keep growing my beard throughout the winter again this year and I welcome you all to join me.

Thanks and have a great winter.

And that's all I have to say about that.

Another year, another beard. And so it goes.

Thanks to everyone who donated this year! And once again, thanks to Bob for being the Lord of the Moneywrangling and for letting us tag along.

See ya 'round teh interwebs, folks.

The Bearders Three...and the men who work for them (look carefully behind the beards)

Tonight we had a Meeting of the Beards as Jim, Michael, and myself met and discussed the gambit of beard-related topics. There was how best to clean stuff out of it. How to avoid the mustache itch. And of course tales of beards gone by.

Jim also felt sure that I'd win this thing this year.

I have my doubts. A few minutes ago I checked and I was up on Cmar by about $100...2 minutes later it was a $60 lead.

I thought perhaps I finally had this thing. I don't know that I'll ever out raise what I pulled in this year and so it is that I am proud, even though tomorrow I'll check and see that Cmar passed me up (and in all likely hood, as seems to be the tradition, someone else then passed him up out of the blue sticking me with 3rd place...we'll see).

It's been a good HoNoToGroABeMo.

I've enjoyed doing the manly points...I'll likely come up with a new schtick for next year. Who knows.

This will be my second to last posting. I'll post once more tomorrow with the final Manly Points count so we all know who the most manly beard grower was this year.

So with that said, on to the manly points:

Chris - 70

Beard A Non - 140 (+5 for a meme I loved...I wish it had appeared more often, +5 for the final reveal)

Drew - 216

Wesley - 306

Bob - 319

Duane - 145 (+5 for being one of my recruits)

Brian - 285 (+10 for almost always sticking to an evil meme the entire time that kept me entertained)

Cmaaarr - 339 (+1 for evil, +2 for consistent awesomeness)

Fred - 109 (+10 for being one of my recruits)

Jeffrey - 306

Kris - 315 (+3 for FLUFFER NUTTER and stuff, +3 for posting even if the beard couldn't make it)

Michael - 134

Pete - 333 (+3 for a manly burger, +3 for manly nerf)

Brian E - 140 (+5 for the pic, +10 for being yet another one of mine)

A Dam - 290

Jim - 330 (+9 for sushi and super heroics)

Wannes - 199

Chooch - 260 (+10 for manly helmet)

Jason - 252 (+2...wait, which one is you?)

"@Paul_Cornell: Beard update: yes, I have been poorly... #fb http://plixi.com/p/92079171

@warrenellis: @Paul_Cornell BEARD RANKING: SINISTER FACIAL COPSE"

- Twitter exchange on April 13, 2011, between Paul Cornell and HoNoToGroABeMo patron saint Warren Ellis

Ah, the final day of HoNoToGroABeMo 2011. I am greatly pleased for several things:

*my beard has come in, as patchy and unruly as it can, as a guide to How Not To Grow A Beard

*it has done so due to the rich, potent fertilizer of donations

*said donations have poured in on this final day, and I am hopeful they will continue to do so as we approach the midnight hour

A grand and humble thank you to all who have donated, especially those who have boosted my coffers in the last 48 hours (which, as I type this, sees me suddenly in second place). For all of our bravado and humor here, this is both a serious and important cause.

Tonight: the final donations, and here's hoping we hit the $5,000 mark! In the next couple of days: I will reveal The Cmar Beard Awards for 2011!

Descriptor of the day: crackling virility hedge

Just like a man

Here it is, 30 days of ... well ... more time in the morning. Sad to see it go. I'll have to come up with another excuse to stop shaving.

Bob, I'm going to have to throw down the gauntlet for 'least able not to grow a beard'. Maybe it's such a close race because we're family. However, my beard isn't 'lush & silky' like yours, it's coarse and rough, like a man. It's also horrible to live with, like a man. It also never cleans up after itself, like a man. When I'm looking at something, there it is off to the side, staring at women, just like a man.

"I can't live the button-down life like you. I want it all! The terrifying lows, the dizzying highs, the creamy middles! Sure, I might offend a few of the blue-noses with my cocky stride and musky odors--Oh, I'll never be the darling of the so-called "City Fathers" who cluck their tounges, stroke their beards, and talk about 'What's to be done with this Homer Simpson?'" -Homer Simpson

So last night we rocked the anus off of the Hard Rock Cafe, Washington DC. I had never been there and was surprised to discover that it was two doors down from Ford's Theater. Oh wow, I should have taken a picture in front of one of the giant Lincoln displays to compare beards. Oh well.

I was actually going to include a picture of my beard owning the stage, but we got home after 1am and were not up to going through the pictures. They are only just now getting sorted, so rather than wait and possibly miss posting on the final night, I decided to don my Viking helm to celebrate my victory.

Which victory, you may ask? Well, for not growing a proper beard, of course!

I mean, it is clearly a beard - there is hair all over my face, but terms to describe it do not include: lush; abundant; lavish; overflowing; or teeming. So, I think that means I am a HoNoToGroABeMo winner along with several other of my brothers on the site.

Thank you for the donations that came in over the last couple days, it is very much appreciated!!

"There is always a period when a man with a beard shaves it off. This period does not last. He returns headlong to his beard" -Jean Cocteau

And so another year of bearding for boobs comes to a close. I have to day I am rather impressed with the level of donations achieved by some individuals. I am rather proud to count myself amongst such a fine crew of boob supporters. To all those that helped us thwart breast cancer this year, and especially those that have done so as a pledge for my quest, I give the sincerest of thanks to you. And I plan on saving even more boobs next year, so come on back for another round next November.

But my real hope is that there isn't a next year for this. Not for this cause. Because I hope the money we donate is put to a good enough use to beat the living snot out of breast cancer. It's a terrible evil thing and I hate it more than I hate vegetables. And I hate vegetables enough to have gone vegetarian. So until the shave off trim up pictures are posted men, the honor of bearding with you has been mine.

The beard in this photograph is an artist's rendering, as my actual beard was not available when the photo was taken.

We are less than four hours away (unless you live in the Central, Mountain or Narnian time zones) from the conclusion of our fund-raising activities. Note that I do not say that we are nearing the end of our beard-growing; I suspect that some of us will likely continue along the Many Follicled Path for at least a few more weeks, if not until the end of winter.

A couple of years ago I shaved my "beard" into mutton chops once December arrived. There are many words to describe how my wife felt about this, and none of them are "thrilled." Photographic evidence of these chops exists on the Internets, if you know where to look.

Whatever happens to my cheeks and chin over the next eleven months, you can be sure of one thing: I'll be shaving again on All Hallow's Eve 2012 and the cycle will begin once more.

Thank you to all of our participants this year. Veterans, it's great to have you back. New guys, I hope we made you feel welcome in your rookie year.

And to all the generous sponsors: thank you, thank you, thank you. As of this writing, I offer nearly 3,600 thanks, and I hope to owe you at least 1,400 more come midnight.

Behold, my shining beard of gray and white, sprung forth from the very bowels of my face, bristling in righteous fury as I fall further and further away from the leading position. For shame! If there is a true beard aficionado among you, you will sponsor my beard! Sponsor it such that it might once again take the lead away from Greiner, the Lord of Beard-dur, master of the Beard-Wraiths. For Middle-Beard!

So this is it. Thirty days, and this is what I've got. Morgan Spurlock can highlight the insanity of our entire culture in thirty days, and I can sort of grow something that can charitably be called a beard.