Stewart Begins Post-Prison Life

Martha Stewart strolled outdoors with her dog and fed her horses Friday morning, hours after returning from prison to her estate in Bedford, N.Y., where she will remain under the watch of federal authorities while trying to revive her homemaking empire.

Before her five-month stay in prison, Stewart lamented that she would miss her beloved pets -- cats, dogs, horses, canaries and chickens -- and hoped to be free in time for her cherished spring gardening.

On a cold late-winter morning, she emerged from her home wearing an ecru quilted coat and matching long knit scarf, dark pants and boots but no gloves. Stewart walked with a companion and a dog to a snowy paddock. She handed treats over the fence to five horses and caressed their muzzles, then turned to wave to journalists before heading inside.

Later, looking tired but smiling broadly, she exchanged banter with journalists staked out on the other side of a fence. “It feels great,” she replied when asked how it felt to be home.

Chatting on the subject of breakfast -- she hadn’t had hers yet -- Stewart offered that she had missed “the idea of cappuccino,” more than the actual beverage, while in prison.

Stewart was driven to the 153-acre estate 40 miles north of Midtown Manhattan after landing about 2 a.m. EST at Westchester County Airport in a private jet.

For the next five months, Stewart must wear an electronic anklet so authorities can track her every move. But she is allowed to receive her $900,000 salary again and can leave home for up to 48 hours a week to work, shop or run other approved errands.

Stewart’s release came one day shy of the one-year anniversary of her conviction in New York on charges stemming from her 2001 sale of nearly 4,000 shares of biotechnology company ImClone Systems Inc. She was convicted of obstructing justice and lying to the government.

Shares of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc. fell $3.20 on Friday to $30.75 on the New York Stock Exchange.