--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The axe and saw are insanely busy, chips…" description: "\"The axe and saw are insanely busy, chips are flying thick as snowflakes, and every summer thousands of acres of priceless forests, with their underbrus..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/824/john-muir-678_acres_the-axe-and-saw-are-insanely-busy-chips_839697.png" --- # The axe and saw are insanely busy, chips are flying thick… ![“The axe and saw are insanely busy, chips are flying thick as snowflakes, and every summer thousands of acres of priceless forests, with their underbrush, soil, springs, climate, scenery, and religion, are vanishing away in clouds of smoke, while, except in the national parks, not one forest guard…” quote by John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/824/john-muir-678_acres_the-axe-and-saw-are-insanely-busy-chips_839697.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/824/john-muir-678_acres_the-axe-and-saw-are-insanely-busy-chips_839697.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/824/john-muir-678_acres_the-axe-and-saw-are-insanely-busy-chips_839697.png) > “The axe and saw are insanely busy, chips are flying thick as snowflakes, and every summer thousands of acres of priceless forests, with their underbrush, soil, springs, climate, scenery, and religion, are vanishing away in clouds of smoke, while, except in the national parks, not one forest guard is employed.” [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Forests are being destroyed rapidly, with no protection outside parks, leading to loss of ecosystems and cultural values. **In simple terms:** Forests are disappearing quickly without proper guardianship. Key Takeaway Advocate for stronger forest protection and staffing. Themes environment conservation deforestation culture climate Mood urgent reflective Type environmental call to action When to use this quote - logging industry - government budgeting - community education - legal enforcement Key Concepts ecosystem services biodiversity loss public stewardship Questions to Reflect On - What incentives can protect forests while supporting local economies? - How can public awareness shift policy? A Different Perspective Economic pressures often outweigh environmental concerns. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Climate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/climate/) [Deforestation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deforestation/) [Flying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flying/) [Forests](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forests/) [National parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/national-parks/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Scenery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scenery/) [Smoke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smoke/) [Snowflake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/snowflake/) [Spring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spring/) [Summer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/summer/) ## Related quotes > [On my reservation, we had one of the most abundant fisheries in the world and hundreds of thousands of acres of wild rice beds.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winona-laduke/on-my-reservation-we-had-one-of-the-most-abundant-fisheries-in-the/) [Winona LaDuke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winona-laduke/) > [“The lake i had grown up on was protected by thousands of acres of private forests. It kept out the reality of a harsher…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-gates-gill/the-lake-i-had-grown-up-on-was-protected-by-thousands-of-acres-of/) [Michael Gates Gill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-gates-gill/) > [While cares will drop off like autumn leaves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/while-cares-will-drop-off-like-autumn-leaves/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [Walk away quietly in any direction and taste the freedom of the mountaineer. Camp out among the grasses and gentians of glacial meadows, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/walk-away-quietly-in-any-direction-and-taste-the-freedom-of-the/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [Everybody needs beauty as well as bread.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/everybody-needs-beauty-as-well-as-bread/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where Nature may heal and cheer and give strength to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/everybody-needs-beauty-as-well-as-bread-places-to-play-in-and-pray-in/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [The making of the far-famed New York Central Park was opposed by even good men, with misguided pluck, perseverance, and ingenuity, but straight right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/the-making-of-the-far-famed-new-york-central-park-was-opposed-by-even/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/climb-the-mountains-and-get-their-good-tidings-nature-s-peace-will-3/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [The commitment to put an end to illegal deforestation and develop sustainable alternatives for commodities like palm oil and soy, for example, is an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-polman/the-commitment-to-put-an-end-to-illegal-deforestation-and-develop/) [Paul Polman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-polman/) > [There are so many causes. Gun control, climate change, deforestation, animal welfare, human welfare, education. Working on the big issues is noble and great,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moby/there-are-so-many-causes-gun-control-climate-change-deforestation/) [Moby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moby/) > [Forests ... are in fact the world's air-conditioning system-the very lungs of the planet-and help to store the largest body of freshwater on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prince-charles/forests-are-in-fact-the-world-s-air-conditioning-system-the-very/) [Prince Charles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prince-charles/) > [Trees face many difficulties, what with deforestation and pollution, but that didn't stop me from wanting to be one - to just stop feeling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-gonzalez/trees-face-many-difficulties-what-with-deforestation-and-pollution/) [Emma Gonzalez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-gonzalez/) > [Once the forest has been removed and the swamp starts being drained, that organic matter begins to oxidise and give off continuing emissions. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-ford-seymour/once-the-forest-has-been-removed-and-the-swamp-starts-being-drained/) Frances Ford Seymour > [When you look at the consequences of climate change, at rainforest deforestation, at antibiotic resistance, these are not necessarily political issues, but rather issues…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moby/when-you-look-at-the-consequences-of-climate-change-at-rainforest/) [Moby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moby/) > [You hear headlines from time to time about the Amazon rainforest disappearing at a greater or lesser rate… The real story is that over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-symmes/you-hear-headlines-from-time-to-time-about-the-amazon-rainforest/) Patrick Symmes ## More by John Muir > [I will follow my instincts, be myself for good or ill, and see what will be the upshot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/i-will-follow-my-instincts-be-myself-for-good-or-ill-and-see-what/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [During my first years in the Sierra, I was ever calling on everybody within reach to admire them, but I found no one half…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/during-my-first-years-in-the-sierra-i-was-ever-calling-on-everybody/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [While cares will drop off like autumn leaves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/while-cares-will-drop-off-like-autumn-leaves/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [...full of God's thoughts, a place of peace and safety amid the most exalted grandeur and enthusiastic action, a new song, a place of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/full-of-god-s-thoughts-a-place-of-peace-and-safety-amid-the-most/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [“Here are the roots of all the life of the valleys, and here more simply than elsewhere is the eternal flux of nature manifested.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/here-are-the-roots-of-all-the-life-of-the-valleys-and-here-more/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [Spring work is going on with joyful enthusiasm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/spring-work-is-going-on-with-joyful-enthusiasm/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [Our lives are rounded with a sleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/our-lives-are-rounded-with-a-sleep/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [Another glorious day, the air as delicious to the lungs as nectar to the tongue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/another-glorious-day-the-air-as-delicious-to-the-lungs-as-nectar-to/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [Long, blue, spiky-edged shadows crept out across the snow-fields, while a rosy glow, at first scarce discernible, gradually deepened and suffused every mountain-top, flushing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/long-blue-spiky-edged-shadows-crept-out-across-the-snow-fields-while/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [“This grand show is eternal. It is always sunrise somewhere; the dew is never all dried at once; a shower is forever falling; vapor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/this-grand-show-is-eternal-it-is-always-sunrise-somewhere-the-dew-is/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/when-one-tugs-at-a-single-thing-in-nature-he-finds-it-attached-to-the/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [In studying the fate of our forest king, we have thus far considered the action of purely natural causes only; but, unfortunately, man is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/in-studying-the-fate-of-our-forest-king-we-have-thus-far-considered/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [The forests of America, however slighted by man, must have been a great delight to God; for they were the best he ever planted.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/the-forests-of-america-however-slighted-by-man-must-have-been-a-great/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [Man seems to be the only animal whose food soils him, making necessary much washing and shield-like bibs and napkins. Moles living in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/man-seems-to-be-the-only-animal-whose-food-soils-him-making-necessary/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [As long as I live, I'll hear waterfalls and birds and winds sing. I'll interpret the rocks, learn the language of flood, storm, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/as-long-as-i-live-i-ll-hear-waterfalls-and-birds-and-winds-sing-i-ll/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) [Explore all 409 John Muir quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) ## More Acres quotes > [“I suppose there was never a reason for tearing down a cabin or scrapping a stopped automobile, if you had all those acres.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/i-suppose-there-was-never-a-reason-for-tearing-down-a-cabin-or/) [Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/) > [It were good to know how much hay an acre of every sort will bear; how many cattle the same weight of each sort…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-petty/it-were-good-to-know-how-much-hay-an-acre-of-every-sort-will-bear-how/) [William Petty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-petty/) > [In the 24 hours since this time yesterday, over 200,000 acres of rainforest have been destroyed in our world. Fully 13 million tons of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-hartmann/in-the-24-hours-since-this-time-yesterday-over-200-000-acres-of/) [Thom Hartmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-hartmann/) > [About five years ago, the courses we run in the Field Trials were 52 percent timber. The hawks live in trees, and the quail…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-carlisle/about-five-years-ago-the-courses-we-run-in-the-field-trials-were-52/) [Rick Carlisle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-carlisle/) > [ \[Footnote:\] Pliny the Elder described a Whale called "Balaena or Whirlpool, which is so long and broad as to take up more in length… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-cuppy/footnote-pliny-the-elder-described-a-whale-called-balaena-or/) [Will Cuppy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-cuppy/) > [One time we did have 300 acres in watermelons. That was fun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/delta-burke/one-time-we-did-have-300-acres-in-watermelons-that-was-fun/) [Delta Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/delta-burke/) > [Our problem with limited resources is not primarily overpopulation; it is greed. Our problem with pollution is not the invention of fluorocarbons or mass…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winkie-pratney/our-problem-with-limited-resources-is-not-primarily-overpopulation-it/) [Winkie Pratney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winkie-pratney/) > [Only by himself, with one acre and a house, will a dunce be a dunce. Once he manages to gain power, he'll turn into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-grillparzer/only-by-himself-with-one-acre-and-a-house-will-a-dunce-be-a-dunce/) [Franz Grillparzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-grillparzer/) > [And we never got the mule, let alone the forty acres.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-evers/and-we-never-got-the-mule-let-alone-the-forty-acres/) [Charles Evers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-evers/) > [I grew up in a town outside of Waco, Texas, and we had 30 acres.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-plemons/i-grew-up-in-a-town-outside-of-waco-texas-and-we-had-30-acres/) [Jesse Plemons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-plemons/) > [The poet is at the edge of our consciousness of the world, finding beyond the suspected nothingness which we imagine limits our perception another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-davenport/the-poet-is-at-the-edge-of-our-consciousness-of-the-world-finding/) [Guy Davenport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-davenport/) > [We live on a 500-acre ranch, beautiful ranch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanya-tucker/we-live-on-a-500-acre-ranch-beautiful-ranch/) [Tanya Tucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tanya-tucker/) > [There is not an acre of ground on the globe that is in possession of its rightful owner, or that has not been taken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/there-is-not-an-acre-of-ground-on-the-globe-that-is-in-possession-of/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [The city of London, within the walls, occupies a space of only 370 acres, and is but the hundred and fortieth part of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-mayhew/the-city-of-london-within-the-walls-occupies-a-space-of-only-370/) [Henry Mayhew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-mayhew/) > [The ploughman knows how many acres he shall upturn from dawn to sunset: but the thinker knows not what a day may bring forth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lancaster-spalding/the-ploughman-knows-how-many-acres-he-shall-upturn-from-dawn-to/) [John Lancaster Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lancaster-spalding/) Browse all 218 Acres quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The axe and saw are insanely busy, chips are flying thick as snowflakes, and every summer thousands of acres of priceless forests, with their underbrush, soil, springs, climate, scenery, and religion, are vanishing away in clouds of smoke, while, except in the national parks, not one forest guard is employed.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Muir" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/the-axe-and-saw-are-insanely-busy-chips-are-flying-thick-as/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Acres" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/the-axe-and-saw-are-insanely-busy-chips-are-flying-thick-as/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/824/john-muir-678_acres_the-axe-and-saw-are-insanely-busy-chips_839697.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/824/john-muir-678_acres_the-axe-and-saw-are-insanely-busy-chips_839697.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/824/john-muir-678_acres_the-axe-and-saw-are-insanely-busy-chips_839697.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The axe and saw are insanely busy, chips are flying thick as snowflakes, and every summer thousands of acres…” — John Muir", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "John Muir", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The axe and saw are insanely...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/the-axe-and-saw-are-insanely-busy-chips-are-flying-thick-as/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/the-axe-and-saw-are-insanely-busy-chips-are-flying-thick-as/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```