DAH is me, David Anthony Hance. 
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First up this week: Quarrelous … 
In secondary school I joined the forensics society, for competitive debate and public speaking. It was rather frightening at first, especially impromptu speechifying. Well, that's still a bit frightening. My mind often feels empty as I begin, but I can (usually) get rolling. My Mum, forever after my school forensics, blamed  them for my perceived quarrelousness. She and I argued about everything, in a good natured way. It drove Dad crazy. "You're always fighting!" he declared. "It's all in fun, dear. We enjoy it," said Mum. "Dear, oh dear,"  Dad would shake his head, suddenly emulating his own father. So interesting, how our behaviors span generations. 

Second up this week, Qualmish …
Per good'ol Merriam-Webster: 
"a: having or tending to have qualms especially of nausea : nauseated
<my dear angel has been qualmish of late — Tobias Smollett>
b: affected by scruples or compunction : squeamish
<qualmish … he refused to kill a spider — John Hersey>"
Qualmmish: How I feel in many personal confrontations … or, of course, if asked to speak impromptu. The first known use of "qualmish" was in 1548, before the birth of William Shakespeare in 1564. Too long to feel nauseated. So, I shall dwell no longer on this. Leave me be, qualmishness, I refuse to quaver. 

Third up this week, Quaver …
My first thought was English for a musical eighth note or rest. But I suspect that isn't the first thought for most. More likely one quavering is simply trembling. Perhaps at a daunting run of eighth notes. Or one's voice might be made to quaver affect for emotional effect. Were one quarrelous or quamish a quavering voice makes sense. Unless performing I prefer to control my quavering. I like to sound secure and confident, at least safe and friendly. Or might you prefer quiver to quaver? Either is OK by me. Or a simple vibration. You may, of course, choose for yourself.

A travel guide I really like.
Wildsam CALIFORNIA Field Guide
An odd choice, I know. But I do enjoy browsing and reading it (and others in Wildsam's American Road Trip Series … this one is Vol.5). I first encountered these Field Guides in the Heath Ceramics factory shop in Sausalito, which seems a quality endorsement to me. They're small (pocketable) in size and not particularly inexpensive. Here's the blurb on this one from ubiquitous Amazon:
"Wildsam Field Guides: California reveals the essence of the Golden State through local stories, travel intel and modern lore, seeking out the real and rooted things, what's truly authentic and sharing the soul of a place, for travelers and locals alike." And only 140 pages! They're not all state-based (the Joshua Tree volume seems especially popular).

And a bit more (on a Macfarlane kick): 

"Oak"
by Robert Macfarlane

Out on the hill, old Oak still stands:
stag-headed, fire-struck, bare-crowned,
stubbornly holding its ground.

Poplar is the whispering tree,
Rowan is the sheltering tree,
Willow is the weeping tree —
and Oak is the waiting tree.

Three hundred years to grow,
three hundred more to thrive,
three hundred years to die —
nine hundred years alive.


And that's all for this week.
From Mary Oliver's "Sometimes"