The weird thing about our property is that, although we live in the woods, there are very few trees around our actual yard, and there's very little shade....or raking. The nearest trees are not pines, but shorter-needled larches or firs. Sometimes I rake the entire yard anyway, just because it looks nice afterwards. I got in some practice at my sister's house this past week, so I ought to be all warmed up and psyched up to tackle our place now. We'll see.
There is something so pleasing about a freshly raked space. Maybe I need a rock garden, then again I don't know if I need even more raking to do lol! Glad to hear that you got to hang out at your sis's house this past week, escapes are good even if you did a bunch of labor.:)
I like to feel useful while I am there, not just taking up space and eating food. Ha ha!