[dancing spawn of ungoliant]

In the CbC (LotR: Book 6, Ch.9) davem made me think of the fading of the Shire from a new angle. After the scouring the Shire was in a pretty bad shape, but with hard work and a bit of dust from Galadriel it looked like things could have been mended. Year 1420 was wonderful in its "air of richness and growth, and a gleam of beauty beyond that of mortal summers".

When the One Ring had been destroyed and Galadriel and Nenya left Middle-earth, Lothlorien began to fade. A lot of good had been done with the the gift that Sam had received from Galadriel, but if the dust had got its powers from Nenya, I'd assume that the things that had been made with the aid of it started to fade as well.

I rather like Lal's poetic explanation, too. Perhaps with a little of "Elf-magic" the Shire became the mysterious place that it now is, out of ordinary people's reach.