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Pink nightime glow in Shirley captivates residents

SHIRLEY, Mass. — For weeks, a strange "night time glow" has captivated people in Shirley.

The night sky has lit up pink, but only in one particular area in the middle of the woods.

The pink lights are coming from inside a greenhouse on Walker Road causing the glow on the outside. Co-founder of Little Leaf Farms, Tim Cunniff, showed FOX25 inside the greenhouse and explained why the lights were coming.

Main photo: Mark Stimpson/Littleton

"So we've got LED grow lights so that we can grow lettuce year round," said Tim Cunniff, co-founder of Little Leaf Farms on the Shirley-Devens line.

The lights supplement sunlight when the days get shorter or the skies are cloudy. Blackout shades typically shield the light from seeping out of the greenhouse, but they recently broke, which led to the pink glow coming through.

The greenhouse harvests lettuce through a fully automated system. Cunniff tells FOX25 it's the most technologically advanced greenhouse in the world.

"Nobody touches anything, that's what it means….it’s automated,” said Cunniff.

Cunniff's excited about the innovation, but is perhaps more excited that the pink light has shed light on the project.

However, Friday was the last night of the pink glow. Cunniff told FOX25 the blinds are being fixed this weekend so the LED lights will be confined to inside the building.