The trees at the bottom of my drive

I think you are wrong about them being "Monkey puzzle trees"
Araucaria araucana (popularly called the monkey puzzle tree or monkey tail tree) is an evergreen tree growing to 40 metres (130 ft) tall with a 2 metres (7 ft) trunk diameter. The tree is native to central and southern Chile and western Argentina. Araucaria araucana is the hardiest species in the conifer genus Araucari,a Because of the species' great age it is sometimes described as a living fossil.

The green parts of such trees have "Shark tooth shaped sharp setated stiff leaves" these are arranged circling the branch which leads to the trees othe name "Monkey tail tree"

John

Info from Wikipedia.