My own experiences are somewhat different. I can think of three Middle-earth moments, two of which are not strictly nature related.
The first one is cyclical but on a weekly rather than a seasonal basis. Every Friday evening and Saturday, my family and I live a life far removed from the 21st century. We do without TVs, cars, radios, CD players, and for the most part even computers. (OK, I do "cheat" on that last one occasionally.
) We walk to each other's houses (up to about a mile or so) and sit around the table at dinner and lunch, eating heaps of food and talking. It's a rare Saturday that we don't have one or more guests. It's not always so idyllic. Sometimes when we walk, a thunderstorm blows in and everyone gets drenched.
We do this for religious reasons that have nothing to do with Middle-earth, but strangely enough it always reminds me of living in the Shire. Very people centered and relaxing. It's as if time slows down. It's race, race, race all week and then a day to sniff the flowers, read a book, or even take a nap.
My second Middle-earth moment is when I sit with my kids and read to them. (Actually, sometimes I have them read to me, since it beats the prepackaged audio books on CD.) Even though I have a teen and pre-teen, we still do this sometimes, especially in the summer. I always feel like Bilbo telling stories to young Sam or Frodo.
As far as nature goes, Houston is not inspiring. No lovely woods or anything like that. But the ocean is just an hour away in Galveston which is a sleepy city, whose prime is long past. I always think of fading Elves when I go there! But the greatest lure is the beach and to listen to the surf. Shades of Sam Gamgee at the end of the unpublished epilogue, or even the shores of Tol Eressea. The ocean just goes on and on....