--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I spend a lot of time sizing up a tree…" description: "\"I spend a lot of time sizing up a tree before I fell it. Once it's down, I clear away the brush around the tree before I start cutting it into lengths ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a8/sue-hubbell-14236_balance_i-spend-a-lot-of-time-sizing-up-a-tree-b_296672.jpg" --- # I spend a lot of time sizing up a tree before I fell it… ![“I spend a lot of time sizing up a tree before I fell it. Once it's down, I clear away the brush around the tree before I start cutting it into lengths so I won't trip and lose my balance with the chain saw running.” quote by Sue Hubbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a8/sue-hubbell-14236_balance_i-spend-a-lot-of-time-sizing-up-a-tree-b_296672.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a8/sue-hubbell-14236_balance_i-spend-a-lot-of-time-sizing-up-a-tree-b_296672.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a8/sue-hubbell-14236_balance_i-spend-a-lot-of-time-sizing-up-a-tree-b_296672.jpg) > “I spend a lot of time sizing up a tree before I fell it. Once it's down, I clear away the brush around the tree before I start cutting it into lengths so I won't trip and lose my balance with the chain saw running.” [Sue Hubbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-hubbell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Preparation and caution prevent accidents when handling dangerous tasks. **In simple terms:** Plan before you act to stay safe. Key Takeaway Always assess risks before starting. Themes safety preparation risk management outdoors Mood practical cautious Type instructional advice When to use this quote - tree felling - construction work - home repairs - gardening Key Concepts situational awareness risk assessment preventive planning Questions to Reflect On - What safety steps do you skip? - How can you balance speed and caution? A Different Perspective Over‑planning may cause delays or missed opportunities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Balance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/balance/) [Brush Tree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brush-tree-2843129/) [Chain Saw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chain-saw-847456/) [Cutting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cutting/) [Cutting Lengths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cutting-lengths-2843130/) [Lose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lose/) [Sizing Tree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sizing-tree-2843128/) [Start](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/start/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Tree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tree/) [Trees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trees/) ## Related quotes > [“Roger, he has a chain saw," I hissed. "I am not going to die in Kentucky!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morgan-matson/roger-he-has-a-chain-saw-i-hissed-i-am-not-going-to-die-in-kentucky/) [Morgan Matson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morgan-matson/) > [You might be a redneck if you think a chain saw is a musical instrument.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-foxworthy/you-might-be-a-redneck-if-you-think-a-chain-saw-is-a-musical/) [Jeff Foxworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-foxworthy/) > [I bought an electric-powered chain saw with a plug-in cord so if I run away fast enough, you can only chase me so far.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-notaro/i-bought-an-electric-powered-chain-saw-with-a-plug-in-cord-so-if-i/) [Laurie Notaro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-notaro/) > [“You can keep the sectional,"she'd said. He hadn't, although it had been a bitch getting it out of the house, and he'd finally used…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/you-can-keep-the-sectional-she-d-said-he-hadn-t-although-it-had-been/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [“Feel the chain saw. Be the chain saw.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-echols/feel-the-chain-saw-be-the-chain-saw/) [Jennifer Echols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-echols/) > [“At well over six feet tall, his shoulders were broad and his posture menacing—or so it seemed to her. All he needed was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-force/at-well-over-six-feet-tall-his-shoulders-were-broad-and-his-posture/) [Marie Force](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-force/) > [“Cam knows this is not going to be a good day the moment he sees the chain saw.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-shusterman/cam-knows-this-is-not-going-to-be-a-good-day-the-moment-he-sees-the/) [Neal Shusterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-shusterman/) > [I hope you know I pack a chain saw. I'll skin your ass raw. And if my day keeps goin' this way I just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/limp-bizkit/i-hope-you-know-i-pack-a-chain-saw-i-ll-skin-your-ass-raw-and-if-my/) [Limp Bizkit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/limp-bizkit/) > [I used to throw stuff out of the window and trash hotel rooms - and superglue all the drawers shut and superglue the toilet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-walsh/i-used-to-throw-stuff-out-of-the-window-and-trash-hotel-rooms-and/) [Joe Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-walsh/) > [“The infinitesimal seedlings became a forest of trees that grew courteously, correcting the distances between themselves as they shaped themselves to the promptings of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-infinitesimal-seedlings-became-a-forest-of-trees-that-grew/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life's unfairness is not irrevocable; we can help balance the scales for others, if not always for ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hubert-h-humphrey/life-s-unfairness-is-not-irrevocable-we-can-help-balance-the-scales/) [Hubert H. Humphrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hubert-h-humphrey/) > [she got a reputation for an easy smile and a sharp tongue, and using one to balance the other, she seemed friendly but distant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-allison/she-got-a-reputation-for-an-easy-smile-and-a-sharp-tongue-and-using/) [Dorothy Allison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-allison/) > [I can still function when I don't have that balance I crave. I had a tendency to be precious about acting, thinking of it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-regan/i-can-still-function-when-i-don-t-have-that-balance-i-crave-i-had-a/) [Laura Regan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-regan/) > [The bones of my architecture are very much related to the structure, to the physical fact of how a building can stand up; it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santiago-calatrava/the-bones-of-my-architecture-are-very-much-related-to-the-structure/) [Santiago Calatrava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santiago-calatrava/) > [Balance suggests a perfect equilibrium. There is no such thing. That is a false expectation… There are going to be priorities and dimensions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-morrison/balance-suggests-a-perfect-equilibrium-there-is-no-such-thing-that-is/) [Denise Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-morrison/) ## More by Sue Hubbell > [Greer is Missouri's second-largest spring. It is a place of pounding, frothing waters and of greeny-cool moss-covered rock, a place of fern and cliffy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-hubbell/greer-is-missouri-s-second-largest-spring-it-is-a-place-of-pounding/) [Sue Hubbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-hubbell/) > [Sometimes, I wonder where we older women fit into the social scheme of things once nest-building has lost its charm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-hubbell/sometimes-i-wonder-where-we-older-women-fit-into-the-social-scheme-of/) [Sue Hubbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-hubbell/) > [Our family was like no one else's. My schoolfriends had fathers and grandfathers and uncles who did things, but in my family, women had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-hubbell/our-family-was-like-no-one-else-s-my-schoolfriends-had-fathers-and/) [Sue Hubbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-hubbell/) > [You have to take springtime on its own terms in the Ozarks: there is no other way. It can't be predicted. It is unsteady,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-hubbell/you-have-to-take-springtime-on-its-own-terms-in-the-ozarks-there-is/) [Sue Hubbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-hubbell/) > [We humans are a minority of giants stumbling around in a world of little things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-hubbell/we-humans-are-a-minority-of-giants-stumbling-around-in-a-world-of/) [Sue Hubbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-hubbell/) > [I have stopped sleeping inside. A house is too small, too confining. I want the whole world, and the stars too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-hubbell/i-have-stopped-sleeping-inside-a-house-is-too-small-too-confining-i/) [Sue Hubbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-hubbell/) > [Precision, directness, and quickness are what human beings are good at. What we have never been good at - in our past, at least…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-hubbell/precision-directness-and-quickness-are-what-human-beings-are-good-at/) [Sue Hubbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-hubbell/) > [“...when I offered to either stay and help or go bake a pie, it was the pie that was most needed. It took six…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-hubbell/when-i-offered-to-either-stay-and-help-or-go-bake-a-pie-it-was-the/) [Sue Hubbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-hubbell/) > [Strictly speaking, one never 'keeps' bees - one comes to terms with their wild nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-hubbell/strictly-speaking-one-never-keeps-bees-one-comes-to-terms-with-their/) [Sue Hubbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-hubbell/) > [It gets cold here in the Ozarks in the winter. There are often warm winter days, but there are also weeks when the temperature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-hubbell/it-gets-cold-here-in-the-ozarks-in-the-winter-there-are-often-warm/) [Sue Hubbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-hubbell/) > [Maine is a movable music festival in the summertime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-hubbell/maine-is-a-movable-music-festival-in-the-summertime/) [Sue Hubbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-hubbell/) > [Great Wass Island Preserve is a 1,579-acre Nature Conservancy jewel, a place of spectacular botanical interest, and Jonesport is situated on a postcard-pretty harbor.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-hubbell/great-wass-island-preserve-is-a-1-579-acre-nature-conservancy-jewel-a/) [Sue Hubbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-hubbell/) > [“Got me as fussed as a fart in a mitten.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-hubbell/got-me-as-fussed-as-a-fart-in-a-mitten/) [Sue Hubbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-hubbell/) > [Crickets are immaculately clean, harmless animals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-hubbell/crickets-are-immaculately-clean-harmless-animals/) [Sue Hubbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-hubbell/) > [All chain saws are formidable and dangerous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-hubbell/all-chain-saws-are-formidable-and-dangerous/) [Sue Hubbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-hubbell/) [Explore all 47 Sue Hubbell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-hubbell/) ## More Balance quotes > [Balance suggests a perfect equilibrium. There is no such thing. That is a false expectation… There are going to be priorities and dimensions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-morrison/balance-suggests-a-perfect-equilibrium-there-is-no-such-thing-that-is/) [Denise Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-morrison/) > [The bones of my architecture are very much related to the structure, to the physical fact of how a building can stand up; it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santiago-calatrava/the-bones-of-my-architecture-are-very-much-related-to-the-structure/) [Santiago Calatrava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santiago-calatrava/) > [I can still function when I don't have that balance I crave. I had a tendency to be precious about acting, thinking of it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-regan/i-can-still-function-when-i-don-t-have-that-balance-i-crave-i-had-a/) [Laura Regan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-regan/) > [she got a reputation for an easy smile and a sharp tongue, and using one to balance the other, she seemed friendly but distant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-allison/she-got-a-reputation-for-an-easy-smile-and-a-sharp-tongue-and-using/) [Dorothy Allison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-allison/) > [Life's unfairness is not irrevocable; we can help balance the scales for others, if not always for ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hubert-h-humphrey/life-s-unfairness-is-not-irrevocable-we-can-help-balance-the-scales/) [Hubert H. Humphrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hubert-h-humphrey/) > [“We don't need to strive towards balance, we rather need to work on the obstacles that are preventing the natural flow of balance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-a-alebraheem/we-don-t-need-to-strive-towards-balance-we-rather-need-to-work-on-the/) [A.A. Alebraheem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-a-alebraheem/) > [I think that kind of balance comes with the process of growing together as a band, the Little Dragon. We love to write, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yukimi-nagano/i-think-that-kind-of-balance-comes-with-the-process-of-growing/) [Yukimi Nagano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yukimi-nagano/) > [Balance is the ability to be happy in the midst of the most chaotic or even boring or transient circumstance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/balance-is-the-ability-to-be-happy-in-the-midst-of-the-most-chaotic/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [At times of recession, running a budget deficit is highly desirable. Once the economy begins to recover, you have to balance the budget. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-soros/at-times-of-recession-running-a-budget-deficit-is-highly-desirable/) [George Soros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-soros/) > [It's my intention to make something stand outside the realm of album art, but it also feels comfortable to me to be in it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dyer-baizley/it-s-my-intention-to-make-something-stand-outside-the-realm-of-album/) [John Dyer Baizley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dyer-baizley/) > [Once you've gotten your money in balance, you know how much you have to spend on things that are just fun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-warren/once-you-ve-gotten-your-money-in-balance-you-know-how-much-you-have/) [Elizabeth Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-warren/) > [I never understood how much running changes your life. I'm now obsessed. When not trying to beat my personal best, I'm talking to other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadiq-khan/i-never-understood-how-much-running-changes-your-life-i-m-now/) [Sadiq Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadiq-khan/) > [Whatever needed to be done, I need to know how to do it just as well as my wife. You know, for us to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-isbell/whatever-needed-to-be-done-i-need-to-know-how-to-do-it-just-as-well/) [Jason Isbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-isbell/) > [I don't think my parents would have let me go straight into acting full time when I was 12. I do like to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felicity-jones/i-don-t-think-my-parents-would-have-let-me-go-straight-into-acting/) [Felicity Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felicity-jones/) > [When it comes down to music, I have no balance. I am 100 percent. It is like full throttle. Five hundred miles an hour.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yanni/when-it-comes-down-to-music-i-have-no-balance-i-am-100-percent-it-is/) [Yanni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yanni/) [Browse all 5,166 Balance quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/balance/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I spend a lot of time sizing up a tree before I fell it. 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