need more words for "daylight"

So I was feeling vigorous this morning and went out to do some work. A nasty manure spreader has been emptied and put into winter storage. I don't want to call the light present when I went out "pre-dawn light" that could mean any number of things. The sun was not yet over the horizon, but it was undeniably daylight, as opposed to the semi-moonlight of my waking hour. Furthermore, it was really clear that when the sun did break over the treetops that it was not just going to rise and shine, but it was going to blase into existence with the sort of intensity reserved only for unshielded fusion reactors.