Martha Ends 5-Month Prison Stay

(CBS/AP)  Homemaking icon Martha Stewart strolled outdoors with her dog and fed her horses on Friday, hours after returning from five months in prison to the multi-million-dollar estate where she will remain under the watch of federal authorities while trying to revive her commercial empire.

Before going to prison, Stewart had 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 Friday, she emerged from her home, wearing a light-colored coat, dark pants and boots. Stewart walked with a companion and a red Chow Chow 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 again.

Stewart was driven to the 153-acre estate 40 miles north of Manhattan after landing about 2 a.m. at nearby Westchester County Airport in a private jet. She later was seen walking around inside her Winter House with her daughter, Alexis.

For the next five months, Stewart must wear an electronic anklet so authorities can track her every move. She'll be allowed no alcohol, and can only leave for 48 hours, for so-called "gainful employment,"

reports

CBS News Correspondent Joie Chen.

Her journey home began about 12:30 a.m. Friday, when two dark-windowed sport utility vehicles slipped out the gates of the women's prison in Alderson, West Virginia, and drove to a nearby airport.

Gone were her prison khakis: Stewart wore a broad smile and a heavy poncho. The wrap concealed a more svelte domestic goddess, who lost more than ten pounds while in prison, reports Chen.

"The experience of the last five months ... has been life altering and life affirming," Stewart said in a statement issued on her Web site. "Someday, I hope to have the chance to talk more about all that has happened, the extraordinary people I have met here and all that I have learned."

Stewart, 63, who also has homes in Connecticut, Maine and on New York state's Long Island, chose the Katonah estate, which she bought in 2000 for $16 million, to be her prison until August.

Besides running Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc. and writing a column for her magazine, Stewart can prepare for the two television shows that she'll be starring: a revival of her daily homemaking show and her version of NBC's "The Apprentice" hosted by development billionaire Donald Trump,

reports

CBS News Correspondent Trish Regan.

Stewart hopes to turn around the fortunes of a company that produces everything from television shows and magazines to bed sheets and bakeware. In 2004, the company suffered a loss and its revenues sagged, but the stock price rose considerably during her prison stint as investors bet on a Stewart comeback.

On Friday, Martha Stewart Living shares jumped $2.15, or 6.3 percent, to $36.10 in early trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

Details about where Stewart will work will be determined in the next few days at a meeting with her probation officer.

While in home confinement, Stewart will be free to entertain colleagues, neighbors, friends and relatives — as long as they're not criminals. Convicted felons aren't allowed to consort with other convicted felons.

"Right now, as you can imagine, I am thrilled to be returning to my more familiar life," Stewart said in the statement. "My heart is filled with joy at the prospect of the warm embraces of my family, friends and colleagues. Certainly, there is no place like home."

During her time at the federal women's camp in Alderson, Stewart foraged for dandelions and other wild greens, concocted recipes in a microwave and even ate from a vending machine. She also participated in nightly yoga classes, spent time on crafts and writing and lost weight.

Stewart even took on inmate rights, saying her fellow prisoners risked falling into a "severe depression" because of false hopes raised by a U.S. Supreme Court ruling striking down federal sentencing guidelines. Her own sentence, however, was ruled "reasonable" in light of that ruling.

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 the biotechnology company ImClone Systems Inc. She was convicted of obstructing justice and lying to the government.