I really need Presto to work on some kind of sponsorship deal with the company that makes these balls (I was today years old when I learned they also make jump blocks and stuff too, who knew?). At this point his addiction is getting expensive. Sure, I could just stop buying them, but he loves them so much. And now that JB is gone for the winter he’s playing with it even more. It brings him joy, therefore it brings me joy. He could be like… slightly less murderous about it though.

On my Black Friday Corro order I tossed another new 30″ ball in my cart, since the one he’s got has a slow but steady leak. I’ve been saying (to myself… I only talk to myself these days…) that when he destroys the 30″ cover I’ll spring for the giant 40″ ball and cover – the biggest one they make. I started with the 30″ originally because it was the medium size, and he seemed less likely to high-center himself and fall over. I’ve just stuck with the 30″ ever since. I have to admit though, now that he knows how to handle himself with a ball, would the 40″ one be even MORE fun? But on the Friday after Thanksgiving when I ordered the 30″ replacement ball, the cover was still intact. Fastforward 24 hours (like right after I got the notification that the Corro order had shipped) and I went out to find him actively ripping apart said 30″ cover. SERIOUSLY. At this point the only way I can get it to stay on the ball is if I deflate it a bit and then tie it on. So I figured ok, now’s the time since they’re still on sale anyway… and I ordered him a 40″ ball and cover too.

And that thing is BIG. Like… BIG. Thank goodness I have one of those things for filling up air mattresses to use on these balls, because even with that it took about 10 minutes to get it inflated. It’s comically huge. When I tossed it out to Presto and he first started playing with it, I don’t think he registered the size difference. He kept trying to put his feet on top of it and lay on it like he does with his 30-incher (which is currently more like an 18-incher, tied inside it’s tattered cover) and it wasn’t working very well. He tried to pick up and swing around but found that it was heavier than he expected, too. I think he liked it a bit more the next morning when it was cold and the ball had lost a few inches of inflation, so he could grab a good mouthful of cover to pick it up.

At first I thought the 40″ experiment was maybe a dud, and then the next night I was heading down to the barn to bring them in and in the fading light all I saw was a streak of yellow followed by a Presto, high-tailing it as he chased the ball across the pasture. Ok, he was definitely playing with it. And the bigger ball rolls a little better without getting stuck on sticks and things, so it’s faster. He digs that. Once he figured out the size difference he was out there laying on it and putting his feet on it and picking it up, just like with the smaller one. The only thing he remained unable to do was swing it around as much. He loves to swing the ball up and down and whack himself in the head with it, and this one is just a big too big and heavy.

But maybe he figured it out a little bit too well, because THIS is what I came out to find yesterday at dinnertime.

It must have just happened, because it was rapidly deflating as I walked up. And then when it was dying Presto was like OH NO BALL, IS YOU OK and stomped it as it’s life oozed out of it. Ball was decidedly not ok. SOMEONE put a mouth-sized hole in it. I dragged the body out of the field so I can get a replacement ready today. I mean geez, he murdered that thing in like 5 days. Totally not the ball’s fault though, y’all have seen how he bites and smashes those things. This one was no exception. He is really really rough on them. God it’s fun to watch though, and he just loves it.

But now I’ve got a 40″ cover in mostly good shape (its got a couple holes), a 30″ cover in really bad shape, and two 30″ balls. Sigh. They need to sell these in bulk or something. Or I need a frequent buyer’s punch card. He’s a ball serial killer.