Say Click! Take a pic! Let's Go Outside

My son is a big fan of Diego. Thanks to this Nick Jr. show about a boy who rescues wildlife, the Man-cub doesn't just look at a hose and call it a snake -- it's an anaconda! When our grass gets too tall, he runs through it -- like a tapir! Because of Diego, my son thinks iguanas sing and poop strawberries. (I wish they were that delightful.) I didn't know anything about these animals when I was 10, let alone two and a half. The Man-cub also calls all cameras Click, like the camera on the show who is a character in her own right. Click can zoom to find an animal in trouble and identify what it is so Diego can rescue it. Every chance he gets, my boy snatches one of our digital cameras to take a picture of his thumb, his nose or the floor. It's a start.

This weekend (Memorial Day weekend) or next, I hope to have the energy to get outdoors exploring with the Man-cub and taking pictures for Let's Go Outside. It's a plan by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to collect 10,000 photos of families having fun outdoors this summer. The pictures will then be turned into a photomosaic of a nature scene and made into a poster.

Sounds like if you submit a picture, it will be in the photomosaic. (They probably don't want one of my son's nose or thumb photos, though.) You'll be able to see the photomosaic being built on the Let's Go Outside site as the summer progresses and see your photo.

Besides submitting your photo at the site, there you can also find a national wildlife refuge near you, find nature-related events and get nature/wildlife photography tips.

And if we do get outside and use our camera zoom to find an animal in need of rescue, that will just be a huge bonus for the Man-cub. Probably not for the animal.

- - - - -

Can you take a few seconds and vote for Tropic of Mom in the Nickelodeon Parents' Picks Awards here? You can vote every day!

For Local Blog in Miami