The Second Rut ?

I just got back from an outing with Brewer(my dog). I would normally have hunted this afternoon. However I had to make a trip to the dentist office to get a cavity filled. Should have listened to my wife when she said to floss. Any who, sore jaw and all, I took Brew out to one of our favorite romping grounds. There is large neighborhood just a few minutes from our house.Only a small portion of it has been developed, so we love to go out there and just explore the little patches of woods that are still there. Deer sign is always abundant, and usually we cant make it through a trip there without Brewer chasing a few deer. He is a bird dog, but I dont mind,GSP's were bred to be versatile dogs,plus he is very obedient to my whistle so he doesnt go far. Any who, to get back to the point. This is one of my favorite things to do, I love to go exploring the woods, finding deer sign, scouting out new places, its great. Having Brew there with me makes it even better. Today, we encountered a few things, the first was a man walking with his two small dogs, they were fiesty. Seconds after we passed the man with the dogs, I noticed I white tail shoot up and take off from a cleared lot that was elevated 10 ft or so above the road we were on. I did a double take, did I really just see a deer right there, with all these dogs and people within maybe 75 yards. I ran up the hill to investigate, the deer was no where to be found, however, fresh tracks in the mud told me I wasnt seeing things. There were 2 sets of tracks. A doe and a buck.The deer appeared to be following each other. I walked the tracks backwards to a small but thick patch of woods, maybe 50 yards by 30 yards. A friend of mine was hunting yesterday afternoon and saw a nice buck with a doe and found fresh new scrapes near his stand. I mean the rut has been over for a few weeks now. I have read lots of opinions on the second phase of the rut, or the second rut, but I never really knew what I thought about it. What do yall think? I plan on hunting tomorrow afternoon,if today is any indication of things to come, it might be a good day. I havent fired a shot all season, bow or rifle.I've had some close encounters, but for the most part I have just been picky, but the season is almost over and I am craving back straps.I will be hunting on public land. You have to love the state of North Carolina, 1.8 million acres of gamelands and growing. Most of my hunting is done on gamelands. If you havent explored NC's public lands yet, you are missing out. More to come on this later. Until next time. Happy hunting

-Andrew