Contra dance enthusiasts and Montague May Day fans may recognize today’s guest star as Jeanne Weintraub, while people who met the Montague resident following her marriage to Chris Mason — whose sustainability and alternative energy work merits a separate column — may know her as Jeanne Mason (or Weintraub-Mason). Others may call her “Lucia’s mom.” She answers to all of the above, and more.

Greenfield Farmers Market attendees may know Ms. Green Jeanne, purveyor of striking images celebrating our natural world. What began for Mason as a desire to create wearable art for loved ones morphed into a home-based venture that artistically disseminates fascinating facts about our regional and planetary homes.

“As a child, my daughter was into frogs,” said Mason, “so I bought novelty prints and made Lucia many pairs of frog-themed pants.” Mason also wanted to make a tie for her husband to wear to sustainability conferences, “but when I sought a print depicting wind turbines, I couldn’t find a suitable image, so I came up with my own design.”

Lucia Mason, 25, carries forward the family trait of adventurousness and will soon graduate with a chemical engineering degree in Utah. “She’s a hard-core rock climber,” said her mom, who added that Utah is a playground for people who love activities occurring high in the air. “She also does highlining,” said Mason, referring to a sport which entails walking on wire or rope between two high points. When Jeanne showed me videos of Lucia highlining, I nearly fainted.

One other note before returning to Jeanne’s ventures: Lucia was a founder of the Traveling Rhubarb Circus, which was based in the Masons’ barn. “It was youth-led,” said Jeanne. “Kids did all the conceptualizing, light and sound, ticket sales, publicity … every detail of putting on extravaganzas that were often attended by 100 people per show. (The adults) just provided the space.” Apparently that’s what can happen when you make your kid frog pants and provide them with lessons at NECCA (New England Center for Circus Arts) in Brattleboro!

Ms. Green Jeanne came into being partly because there’s a thrilling corner of the universe where you can design your own fabric. She uses an online site called Spoonflower, where she uploads original designs. “You can do tiny runs,” said Mason, “or yards and yards.” Mason leans toward geometric shapes, textures, and luminosity; she designs on an iPad, then uses programs like Illustrator or Photoshop. Such technologies enable Mason to share astounding tidbits about our natural world.

Locals probably know a thing or two about bears, but did you know that when bears mate in spring, an amazing process unfolds? “A bear embryo floats around inside its mother until fall because the mama bear first needs to make a den,” said Mason. “Only then does the embryo implant.” Mason’s blog helps foster a closer relationship with our world. “I had to teach myself animation,” she said. Her posts incorporate that medium so we can observe how foxes use magnetic north to triangulate movements of underground voles, thereby hunting them with surprising accuracy.

Those who wish to remain offline can still partake of Mason’s ingenuity. Her Moonlight Magic calendar includes the fox info, as well as a feature about sugar maples, fungi, and trout lilies, which Mason explains are “happiest together.” She presents details with images and text: “Trout lily passes along water, nitrogen, and phosphorus to fungi in the spring. The fungi mycelium (tiny underground filaments) wrap around her roots, to take in sugar and starches she’s collected from the sun, then send it over to sugar maple so she can get going earlier. In the fall, the cycle is reversed as sugar maple gives some of what she photosynthesizes back to the trout lily to bank up for the winter.”

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That calendar page sheds light on an elusive local animal, too: “The fisher cat was once nearly extinct in New England, but now is thriving in our old growth forests. A member of the weasel family, it is uniquely adapted to hunt porcupines. With their speed and agility, fisher cats can take advantage of the facial gap in the porcupine’s armor.”

A native of Philadelphia, Mason majored in landscape architecture at Rutgers in New Jersey. “My sister Lynn attended (University of Massachusetts) Amherst, and when I’d visit, we enjoyed going to contra dances.” Mason loved the area and moved here even before finding a job. She secured employment at Channing Bete, the Deerfield-based company that specialized in producing wellness materials.

After 13 years, Mason was ready for adventure, and headed to Dharamshala, a city in India that’s home to the largest Tibetan temple outside of Tibet. “I didn’t have a plan,” she said, “but knew I wanted to work with Tibetans. I volunteered with the Tibetan Department of Health, where my English language skills were useful in producing NGO health information.”

While in India, Mason learned she was pregnant and called Chris Mason to share the news. “We were thrilled,” she said, “and I found out my sister Lynn was also expecting; our daughters were born five days apart.” Mason headed home to prepare for the birth.

After becoming a mom, Mason was an associate director in the grants office at Amherst College, a position she held for 15 years. In 2020, she was offered early retirement, and pivoted to study surface pattern design with Bonnie Christine, a well-known artist. Mason’s mother is an artist, as is one of her sisters; her father worked as an educator.

Mason is grateful to live in western Massachusetts. “The open spaces and plants and animals of our region inspire me to learn, and I want people to recognize our dependence on plants and our environment.” Mason’s desire to highlight connections explains why her work rarely shows animals in isolation. Her 2024 Moonlight Magic calendar — which sold out — shows nocturnal animals alongside foods they eat and plants that would likely be found nearby. The calendar’s January image depicts a bobcat in a hemlock forest with rabbits — a food source for bobcats — dotting the landscape, and hemlock varnish mushrooms growing on trees. Folks familiar with the health benefits of reishi mushrooms might be interested to know that hemlock varnish mushrooms provide a local alternative.

Mason has created two 500-piece jigsaw puzzles, one featuring Connecticut River flora and fauna, and another about Pollinating Partners; both come with comprehensive keys. Mason invites people to check out her blog and weigh in with suggestions. She may create a dinosaur ecology puzzle for young kids, as well as a puzzle for adults about prehistoric flora and fauna of New England. She’s also considering doing a calendar about animal villains. “People are afraid of some animals,” she said, “but when we understand them better we can cherish and even befriend them.” So-called villains might include coyotes, sea lampreys, snapping turtles, turkey vulture, snakes and spiders.

Montague resident Laurie Davidson admires how Jeanne and Chris Mason enhance their community. “It’s not surprising that Jeanne’s artwork is inspired by a deep sense of place,” said Davidson. “She tends to the community here in Montague, and she and Chris generously open their home and barn for circus shows, singing workshops, the Montague Music Festival, sauna potlucks, reunions, and more,” Davidson added. “Jeanne is one of the original Montague May Day organizers, and has maintained and stored the Maypole for many years. During the pandemic, she organized a lantern lighting on the town common for New Year’s Eve, and her porch was a haven during inclement weather for the Town Common Singers.”

Davidson also praised the Masons’ front-yard prayer wheel art installation, saying, “It’s worth a trip to Montague.” Jeanne Mason said, “That could be a separate story.” Stay tuned, readers: our area’s natural beauty draws creative spirits and fuels mind-boggling projects.

In addition to the Greenfield Farmers Market and Ms. Green Jeanne’s online store, locals can find her work at Salmon Falls Marketplace in Shelburne Falls and Botanica in Amherst. Moonlight Magic prints will be on exhibit at the Rockridge Retirement Community in Northampton in April, and subsequently at the Salmon Falls Gallery. “I also have a tiny shop in my front hall,” said Mason. People can arrange a visit via email: artist@msgreenjeannedesign.com.

“I invite everyone to sign up for my blog,” she said. “It’s only once a month — you won’t be inundated. There’s always a short story and an animation.” The blog is found at Mason’s website: msgreenjeannedesign.com.

Mason has always seen the world with an artistic eye. “I’m a storyteller and science geek,” she said. “I love sharing that with others.”

Eveline MacDougall is the author of “Fiery Hope,” and a teacher, artist, musician and mom. Readers may contact her at eveline@amandlachorus.org.