By Stephanie Rogers
Juicy, aromatic and highly acidic, lemons bring out the flavor in sweet and savory foods but they nearly always play a supporting role in the kitchen. Stop relegating them to the rim of your glass and give these winter citrus fruits their due - because they're serious cleaning and freshening powerhouses. These 20 unusual uses for lemon juice will make your home look and smell fresh, brighten your laundry, and improve your hair, nails and skin. Quick tip: roll a fresh lemon under your palm on the countertop to soften it up for easier juicing.

Fingernail Brightener
Nails looking dull and yellowed after a long period covered in dark polish? Just squeeze a lemon into a small dish, clean your nails and soak them in the lemon juice for a minute or two. Some women claim that this treatment will also make nails stronger, particularly when adding a tablespoon or so of olive oil to the dish.

Food Preservative
Keep cut fruit and vegetables like apples, pears, avocados and

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By Anna Brones

Sometimes we need reminders of who we are and what is important. Finding Oregon is one of those reminders. Shot in Oregon, and produced by Uncage the Soul Productions, the video is a composite of timelapses, giving us an intimate look at the day and night sky in some of the most remote places in this western state known for its natural resources and beauty. This video is a fresh respite from our everyday, overloaded, technology dependent, lives. It reminds us of the natural rhythms that we have almost become unaccustomed to, reintroducing us to the power and routine of nature. Photographer and Uncage the Soul team member Ben Canales knows a thing or two about timelapses, and in this EcoSalon exclusive behind-the-scenes he shares his inspiration and process, giving us a look into the reality of creating a magical 3 minutes.
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Sweet and spicy toasted pumpkin seeds

Athletes often need to pack a lot of calories and nutrients in to their diets to compensate for all of the energy their grueling exercise schedules require. Healthy snacks are a great way to boost nutrients between workouts without taking too much time to prepare or eat.

Snacks that are high in protein are particularly important for athletes, as protein is crucial for muscle growth and recovery (as well as maintaining healthy skin and bones). Smart athletes eat a variety of proteins -- like eggs, lentils and quinoa -- that provide the body with essential amino acids that it can't create itself.

When it comes to finding protein-rich foods, athletes are like the rest of us and often go straight to meat. However, some of the best protein-packed snacks are meat-free as well as fresh and delicious. Almost all vegetables, beans, grains, and nuts contain protein, making them a tasty, inexpensive and healthy source.

Sports nutritionists recommend getting protein from a variety of fresh

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Goosebumps (MaryLane/Flickr)by Chanie Kirschner, Mother Nature Network

Well, if you've ever been in an air-conditioned New York City bus on a hot summer day, you know that goose bumps can be caused by extreme cold (that's because there are only two settings for the air conditioning on NYC public transportation - "Icebox" or "Heat Wave"). If you've ever been chased by a bear, you also know that goose bumps can be caused by fear. But how?

Goose bumps are a phenomenon caused by the sympathetic nervous system, which controls our fight-or-flight response. When you encounter a dangerous situation, such as a bear approaching you, your sympathetic nervous system sends more blood to your brain, slows digestion, and causes your pupils to dilate - all things that will help you either "fight" or "take flight."

Goose bumps are one of those fight-or-flight responses of the sympathetic nervous system. When you experience cold or fear, for example, a nerve reaction is sent to the muscles that control the hair follicles on

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Vinegar is a great, green cleaner, but you can't use it for everything.
By Adam Verwymeren, Hometalk

Common household vinegar is one of those wonder products that people are always discovering new uses for. Whether you want to drive away dandruff, eradicate mildew, or keep bugs at bay, vinegar has been proposed as a solution to just about every problem under the sun.

But while it has a number of uses, vinegar isn't always the solution, and on occasion it can be downright dangerous. Here are the top 8 ways not to put this miracle substance to work in your home.

1. While vinegar is good at cleaning many things, you shouldn't confuse it with soap. Alkaline cleaners like dish detergent are ideally suited for lifting grease, whereas vinegar will have little effect on it. If you have a greasy cleaning job, reach for regular soap and leave the vinegar on the shelf.

2. You should never use vinegar on waxed surfaces. The vinegar will only strip the wax off, dulling the sheen on your nicely shined car. However, vinegar is a great option if you're

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10,000 Birds Bound for Italian Restaurants

At the border of Hungary and Romania officials discovered 10,000 songbirds no longer alive covered in boxes in a refrigerated truck also containing meat and sausages. Most of the birds were Skylarks, others were Bluethroats, Fieldfares, Mistle Thrushes, Reed Buntings and Pied Wagtails. They had all been gunned down with shotguns.

A European organization called the Committee against Bird Slaughter wrote, "The trade in shot Skylarks and other song birds is a multimillion business in Italy, costing the lives of hundreds of thousands of song birds every year. The Italian forest police annually seize thousands of illegally acquired wild birds in restaurants and game butchers shops, which always include deliveries of migrant birds smuggled in from the Balkans." (Source: Komitee.de)

Reportedly some songbirds are used in gourmet dishes by a number of Italian chefs, possibly in northern Italy. Brescia is one of the cities where songbird consumption has been said to still be

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