was occupied by tenants. The Straights returned to Northern
Virginia in 1948 and took up residence at the farmhouse from that time
until they moved to Georgetown in 1965.

Upon their return to the farm in 1948, they also began to restore
and redesign the grounds surrounding the farmhouse. During the
1920's, when the farm was owned by Frederick Segesserman, a great many
boxwoods had been planted. They had been raised for sale, and in
1948 the pattern of their location on the grounds was erratic.
Therefore, in 1948, a new landscape plan was worked out by Mrs. Max
Farrand, a friend of the Straights and the designer of the gardens
at Dumbarton Oaks in Georgetown. Under her supervision, the
boxwoods were transplanted into a great semicircle behind the
house, the level of the lawn was raised, and retaining walls were
placed at several points. This area comprised the farm's only formal
garden; but, in addition, extensive plantings of white pine were
placed as a screen between the house and the road, and the grounds
surrounding the house were planted with a variety of trees and shrubs,
including hemlocks, cherries, and crabapples, and later, lilacs,
azaleas, and rhododendron.

During the years the Straights lived at the farm, farming operations
consisted of the raising of Hereford cattle. Purchasing yearlings in
the markets of the lower Shenandoah Valley near Winchester, they kept
this stock at the farm for fattening and resale as two-year-old beef
cattle.[76]

A variety of other animals were kept on the farm, but these were
mainly pets of the children.[77] In addition to their horses and
dogs, certain of the Straights' animals acquired reputations of
extraordinary extent. In particular were a goat which was presented to
the Straights by the author and journalist Eric Sevareid,[78] a
mule acquired from the Alexandria SPCA, and a flock of Canada
geese which eventually became the subject of a special bulletin by
the Audubon Society to prevent local naturalists from erroneously
reporting them as migrants.[79]

During these years of residence at Green Spring Farm, Michael
Straight served as editor and publisher of _The New Republic_
magazine, wrote three books, and served on the governing boards of
several organizations active in international affairs.[80] These
activities brought to the farm many visitors whose accomplishments in
politics, literature, science, and the arts were nationally and
internationally recognized. Som